E-Mail 250-769-4999 Directory
Band Members: 855 (60% live on reserve; 40% live off reserve)
Non-Member Residents: 10,000 (approx. 8,000 within IR#9 and 2,000 within IR#10)
Past population (Stats Canada): 7,068 (2011), 6,207 (2006), 5,878 (2001)
Homes on WFN Lands: 4,300
Businesses on WFN Lands: 485, including big box stores, clinics and major financial institutions.
Direct employment on WFN Lands: 3,600 people (approximately)
Square feet of commercial real estate: 1.4 million
Value of development permits: $500 million (2018)
BC Assessment Ranking: 60th out of 162 municipalities, at $1.6 billion in total assessed property value.
Annual budget: $40 million
Annual property taxation revenue: $14.5 million (2018)
Tax burden: 55% residential, 42% commercial, 2% utilities, 1% light industrial
GDP: $0.5 billion/year (2009) and steadily increasing.
GST & PST: $117 million annually from WFN Lands.
Self-Government: Implemented in 2005
Reserve land: Five land parcels 5,340 acres
Community forest: 150,000 acres
Timber produced annually: 100,000 cubic metres
WFN employees: (152 full-time; 43 part-time; 113 Status; 82 non-status)
WFN consolidated entities: Local Government Services, Land Registry, Treaty Negotiations Fund, First Nation Taxation Program, Non-Profit Housing, Long Term Care Facility, Social Development, Sensisyusten School.
Pine Acres Home: 63 beds, 105 employees
Location: 400 km east of Vancouver, 600 km west of Calgary, 130 km north of the USA border
Adjacent to Canada's 22nd-largest city, Kelowna
Trans-Canada highway runs east-west through all ten provinces
Highway 97; Sees over 4 million vehicles annually, 70,000 vehicles daily, including BC's Route 97 Rapid Bus
Partnered with BC Ministry of Transportation: WFN has managed and administered the largest provincial infrastructure development projects on a reserve in BC, including a $41 million highway intersection, and two road extension overpass projects valued at $9.3 million and $17 million.
Okanagan Lake Shopping Centre: Churchill International 50% general partner; WFN 50% limited partner
Snyatan Shopping Centre: Anthem Properties 60% general partner; WFN 40% limited partner
Wind Farm Partnerships: One near Pennask and another between Summerland & Peachland, with 15 megawatts to be created at each station (enough to power 4,000 homes)
2015 Communities in Bloom national winners: WFN and City of West Kelowna, based on categories of tidiness, landscaping, environmental action, heritage conservation and forestry
Kelowna International Airport (YLW): Canada’s 10th-busiest airport, situated 22km to the north east of WFN, ranked 10th in Canada by passenger traffic, and serves 1.6M passengers per annum (non-stop to Vancouver, Calgary, Seattle, Phoenix, Las Vegas and beyond)
Businesses supported by Tourism in B.C.: 19,000
People employed by Tourism in B.C.: 127,500
Value of Aboriginal tourism in B.C.: $42 million (2015)
Nearby wineries, microbreweries, distilleries: 200 (approx.)
Amount of provincial vineyard acreage: 82% in Okanagan
Wine enthusiast magazine ranking: Okanagan Valley - Top 10 best wine destinations
Huffington Post Ranking: #1 wine region in the world (Okanagan)
USA Today ranking: 2nd best wine region to visit (Okanagan)
KPMG’s Competitive Alternatives Report (April 2016): Ranking #1 Central Okanagan (most cost effective place to do business in the Pacific Region of North America) and 11th in Canada. Canada ranks as the 2nd most competitive country worldwide, with a cost advantage of 14.6% relative to the United States.
University of British Columbia (UBC) Okanagan: Opened in September 2005, UBC Okanagan campus is home to undergraduate and graduate students throughout eight faculties and schools. UBCO has an annual payroll of $86 million and is estimated to inject $1.5 billion into the local economy.
Okanagan College: Injects $0.5 billion into the local economy and offers over 120 programs. September 2016 saw the opening of its $33 million Trades Complex, including shop and classroom expansions and renovations.
Kelowna’s General Hospital (KGH): Affiliated with UBC’s Faculty of Medicine, is one of two tertiary referral hospitals and offers over 120 services. It boasts a new Heart and Surgical Centre with 15 operating rooms and a new Cardiac Catheterization Lab.
Building Permits
Westbank first Nation processed $400 million in business permits from 2006 to 2016. In 2017, we processed 169 building permits valued at $45 million, including $38 million (or 149 units) of residential, $6 million commercial, and nearly $1 million institutional. Full permit overview Year # of permits Residential (new units) Commercial Institutional Total 2017 169 $38 million (149 units) $6 million $1 million $45 million 2016 137 $21 million (91) $2 million $23 million 2015 154 $27 million (109) $3 million $5 million $35 million 2014 161 $33 million (148) $3 million $36 million 2013 127 $17 million (76) $10 million $27 million 2012 172 $26 million (115) $8 million $34 million 2011 159 $19 million (73) $31 million $13 million $63 million 2010 150 $27.5 million (174) $11.5 million $39 million 2009 154 $28 million (164) $5 million $33 million 2008 248 $24 million (113) $20 million $44 million 2007 215 $37 million (187) $32 million $69 million 2006 188 $39 million (285) $13 million $0.5 million $53 million 2005 169 $5.5 million (52) $0.5 million $4 million $10 million
Westbank first Nation processed $400 million in business permits from 2006 to 2016. In 2017, we processed 169 building permits valued at $45 million, including $38 million (or 149 units) of residential, $6 million commercial, and nearly $1 million institutional.
Full permit overview