Kelowna growth way down - revisit

This was posted in January. Today the unemployment rate in Kelowna is 9%, the highest of any metro area of Canada. Under Dyas, the City of Kelowna's payroll climbed 8% to $126.1 million in a single year. That is unsustainable. Property values have declined across the board, down 2%. Dyas is spending more as the pie gets smaller. Between 2022 and 2026, Kelowna’s municipal tax hike has been 21%. Tom Dyas called his increase of 4.4% for the current year “fantastic” and “amazing”. The greatest rise under former mayor Colin Basran was 3.9%.

The greater Kelowna area saw a population rise of only 1.2% in the last year with the headcount coming in at 254,605, up from 252,651. The 2021 Census, once placed Kelowna as Canada’s fastest-growing city, a mantra embraced by free spending politicos like mayor Tom Dyas. Reason for less population is obvious. Record high unemployment coupled with sky high living costs, particularly rents. People are leaving for greener pastures. Growth is the lowest the region has seen since the 2010s. Dyas can no longer say Kelowna is classified as one of Canada’s fastest growing cities to justify his ever rising spending and taxes.