BC City Guide 2018: Kamloops

Credit: Tourism Kamloops

Host of many a championship, the riverside city is counting on the tech sector to help it move into the next phase of its development

Kamloops bills itself as Canada’s Tournament Capital, so much so that the athletic complex near local Thompson Rivers University (TRU) is called Tournament Capital Centre. Besides hosting competitions ranging from the 2016 IIHF Women’s World Hockey Championships to the 2011 Western Canada Summer Games, the city embraces nature, as one does in the Thompson-Okanagan’s copious sunshine.

Residents have plenty of elbow room to enjoy the outdoors. For starters, Kamloops maintains one park for every 1,100 people (compared to one for roughly 2,700 in Vancouver). In B.C.’s fourth-largest city by area, much of the sprawling landscape is dry, brown and covered by sagebrush. With Mount Paul looming in the background, you’d be forgiven for wanting to throw on some cowboy boots and do your best John Wayne impression while storming into the old-school train station (until recently, home to one of the province’s oldest Keg steakhouses). When it’s time to make your getaway, Kamloops—named after the Shuswap First Nation word for “meeting place” due to its location in a valley at the intersection of the North and South Thompson rivers—has more than 200 lakes within an hour’s drive. Sun Peaks ski resort is just 45 minutes away.

But don’t let its stunning vistas and wide-open spaces fool you: this bustling city of nearly 103,000 has a strong sense of community. Interior Health Authority is the largest employer, with more than 3,000 local staff. And while organizations like British Columbia Lottery Corp., which is headquartered here, and Canadian National Railway supply many jobs, the forestry and mining industries that helped build the city during the 1960s still hold sway. For example, Teck Resources Ltd. operates nearby Highland Valley Copper, B.C.’s biggest open-pit mine.

The agricultural industry that powered the economy before mining and forestry has waned somewhat, though the beef trade remains prominent. Once one of the world’s major ginseng producers, Kamloops (like the rest of the province) couldn’t keep pace with growers elsewhere. Helping fill the gap are more than 200 technology firms. Organizations like Startup Canada’s 2017 Community of the Year award winner, non-profit Kamloops Innovation, have popped up to support them.

Downtown property assessments have spiked in the past few years, forcing some beloved local businesses to shutter. It’s part of a natural turnover that the city is betting will fuel a thriving tech sector and further develop an urban core that retains its small-town character. The low-rise shops and restaurants that slope down to the river won’t disappear; they’ll be part of a growing regional centre that, starting this spring, will see regular flights to Toronto.

PEOPLE
Population: 102,809
Household age (0-45, 45-64, 64+): 34.8%, 38.4%, 26.8%
University grads: 19.8%
Average household income: $98,589
Average household income under 45: $93,172
Five-year income growth, 2012-17: 16.9%
Five-year population growth: 1.7%

HOUSING
Median detached home price: $427,000
Average condominium price: $216,250
Average monthly rent for a two-bedroom: $970
Average annual household spending on shelter: $23,269

WORK
Key industries: Retail; construction; health care and government services; transportation; agriculture; manufacturing
Notable employers: City of Kamloops; Highland Valley Copper mine; Interior Health Authority; School District 73; Thompson Rivers University (TRU)
Regional unemployment: 7.5% (February)

BUSINESS
Total value of building permits issued in 2017: $224,128,827
Change from 2016: 42%
Average processing time for a building permit: 3.4-5.2 weeks
Cost of a business licence: $146-$2,000
Business property tax rate: $13.64 per $1,000 of assessed value
Average office lease rate per sq. ft./year: $16
Average retail lease rate: $16

QUALITY OF LIFE
Major post-secondary institutions: Sprott Shaw College; TRU
Major recreational amenities: Tournament Capital Centre; 82 parks; 13 golf courses; two indoor pools; outdoor pool; three skating rinks; downhill and cross-country skiing
Key annual events: Kamloops Wine Festival; Snowbombing Canada; Tod Mountain Days Spring Festival; Family Day Festival
Average annual household spending on recreation: $5,499
Residents who walk or bike to work: 4.1%