Municipal Incorporation Process for Okanagan Falls

Home Engagement Opportunities Municipal Incorporation Process for Okanagan Falls

Overview

Dates: April 8 to April 30

Who:

The Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs
Residents of the community of Okanagan Falls
The Osoyoos Indian Band

What: The municipal incorporation process for the Okanagan Falls community

Where: Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen Electoral Area D

Why: To provide updates on the process and ensure it continues to have community input

How: Online, in-person

Category: Families and Residents, Reconciliation Initiatives

Engagement summary

In 2025, residents of the Okanagan Falls community voted for incorporation (to become a new municipality). The next step in the incorporation process is a decision to issue Letters Patent for a new municipality. Work is continuing toward this.

Read the March 22, 2025 news release

For incorporation to proceed, the process is expected to follow these phases, as shared in August 2025:

Development of Letters Patent
Appointment of interim Corporate Officer and Chief Election Officer (after completion of Letters Patent)
Election of mayor and council during the general local election (October 17, 2026)
Incorporation date (the date of the first council meeting in early November 2026)

The Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs, with a provincial facilitator, is working with the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen and consulting with the Osoyoos Indian Band, seeking consent in the development of the Letters Patent.

Questions and comments can be emailed to: MunicipalIncorporation@gov.bc.ca

Learn more about municipalities in B.C.

Open house

On April 23, the ministry held an open house to share project details with community members. Below are the poster boards that were shared during the open house. You can press play to autoplay the slideshow or scroll through the slideshow by clicking the directional buttons or images. Clicking an image will enlarge it.

Overview of incorporation

Letters Patent

Letters Patent are the establishing legal document, or “birth certificate,” of a local government.

The Letters Patent set out the basics – including its name, boundaries and date of incorporation – and they transfer community services such as water, sewage treatment, and fire protection from the regional district to the new municipality.

Once they come into effect, the new municipality can exercise any municipal authority and must observe any requirements established by legislation (such as the Local Government Act, the Community Charter, the Heritage Conservation Act and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act).

Municipal incorporation in B.C.

This municipal incorporation would be the first in B.C. in 15 years. The last time a new municipality was incorporated was the Sun Peaks Mountain Resort Municipality in 2010.

Within the last ten years, two other communities considered incorporation: Salt Spring Island and Sorrento/Blind Bay. In the referendums that took place, residents of both areas voted to not proceed.

What incorporation means

Incorporation generally consolidates local services provided by a regional district (i.e., water, sewer, land use planning) and key provincial government services (i.e., road maintenance, tax collection) under a new municipal organization. This new municipality then becomes financially responsible for those services (i.e., through taxes).

In terms of representation, rather than having a single Electoral Area Director for their rural area, municipalities are governed by an elected municipal council that is made up of a mayor and 4 to 10 councillors.

Based on the size of the community and consultation with the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen, the Province is considering a council of one mayor and four councillors.

After incorporation, residents may also have opportunities to:

Serve on advisory committees established by council
Provide input at council meetings
Run for elected office as mayor or councillor

Involvement of Osoyoos Indian Band

The area proposed for municipal incorporation lies within Osoyoos Indian Band territory and includes unresolved land claims going back to pre-Confederation. This area also includes Osoyoos Indian Band’s historic Dog Lake Indian Reserve No. 2, which was allotted in 1877, alongside the permanent fishing village known in nqilxʷcən/nsyilxcən as sx̌ʷəx̌ʷnitkʷ (little falls).

As an important fishing and former village site, the area contains cultural heritage and archeological resources throughout that are of strong cultural and historical significance to Osoyoos Indian Band and the broader Syilx Okanagan Nation.

Under the Constitution Act, 1982 and the Declaration Act, the Province consults with First Nations that may be impacted by the change of governance. Also, involving Osoyoos Indian Band in the incorporation process will build a strong foundation for a constructive and collaborative relationship between the new municipality and Osoyoos Indian Band. This will help bring the certainty that all parties are looking for.

Municipal name and identity

Naming the municipality

Naming is a part of the incorporation of a new municipality and needs to be in the Letters Patent.

A name represents community identity, and we have heard feedback from many community members about the importance of the community’s name to them. Naming options for the Letters Patent reflect public sentiment, our shared partnerships, and the history of people and the land.

Okanagan Falls is located within the traditional territory of the Syilx (Okanagan) People – represented in the immediate area by the Osoyoos Indian Band, who have lived in and cared for this area for thousands of years.

Name possibilities under consideration

The Province is considering a dual English and nqilxʷcən/nsyilxcən name for the municipality – one that retains “Okanagan Falls” as part of the name and recognizes the area’s shared history and future. There are many examples of provincial parks with dual names (like ȽÁU,WELṈEW̱/John Dean Park in southern Vancouver Island).

We look forward to further engagement with the regional district and community members about this once more information is available.

How a dual name would be used

The official municipal name of the municipality in Letters Patent would have to be used in its entirety on certain legal documents. For instance, contracts between the municipality and another party.

At a practical level, for most daily tasks residents could use either the English or nqilxʷcən/nsyilxcən name, or both. For example, addressing mail with either “Okanagan Falls” or the nqilxʷcən/nsyilxcən name. There would be a small number of situations where the full dual name would be legally required (like legal contracts). In most circumstances, a dual municipal name may be referred to by one name or another.

When the municipality is involved (such as when writing cheques), the legal name should be used. However, using a variation of the name would likely not void a cheque as long as the municipality is clearly identifiable as the payee. For example, a cheque made out to the “District of Summerland” would likely be accepted by a bank even though Summerland’s full name is “The Corporation of the District of Summerland.”

Businesses would not need to be renamed. The use of geographic or community names is a descriptive element of a business name. As long as the use of a non-legal name is not confusing it, the business should be able to continue using that name. For example, even though the municipality of Westside became West Kelowna in 2009, many businesses continue to operate under names that include “Westside,” “Westbank,” and “West Kelowna.”

Mailing addresses

The community name used for mailing purposes is determined by Canada Post. If the new municipality wanted the whole community to be known by a new name, the municipality would need to work with Canada Post to implement the change.

When a change is made (for example, when the District of North Cowichan wanted to get its own postal identity from Duncan), mail that continues to use a previous name (e.g., “Duncan”) can still be successfully delivered by having the previous name listed as a secondary name in the Canada Post database.

Boundaries and services

Municipal boundaries

Municipal boundaries are defined in their Letters Patent, which are passed into law by cabinet.

When considering whether to pass Letters Patent incorporating a municipality, discussions about the boundary are informed by:

The incorporation study that concluded in November 2024
Ongoing provincial engagement with Osoyoos Indian Band and the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen

Information will be shared with the community as discussions progress and we move closer to municipal incorporation.

Decision-making

Like all other local governments, a new municipal council would be accountable to voters for decisions it is empowered to make under provincial law.

The Province is also exploring how Osoyoos Indian Band could engage with a new council as part of a new government-to-government relationship. Many local governments have worked with First Nation partners to enter into agreements on areas of mutual interest.

More information about municipal powers and service

Development services

Development services would become a municipal responsibility and be subject to the bylaws and policies of the new municipal council.

The only change to development processes would be subdivision approval, which would transfer from the Ministry of Transportation and Transit to the new municipal council.

Other services

Subject to the Letters Patent, it is anticipated that most regional district services would become municipal services over the next few years. This includes, for instance, water, sewer, and street lighting services.

Transition to incorporation

In the transition period leading up to incorporation and the election of a municipal council, an Interim Corporate Officer (ICO) is appointed by the Province to undertake preparations for the inaugural council meeting and the election of the inaugural council.

The ICO typically manages financial and administrative arrangements, and events and protocols that are observed at or leading up to the inaugural council meeting. This can include: