West Kelowna only became a city in 2015, but Lakeview Heights and Glenrosa were already being settled 150 years before that.
Long before it had a city government, this side of Okanagan Lake was known as Westbank. A post office opened here in 1902, the name suggested by John Davidson, who'd arrived in the district a decade earlier, in 1892, and "Westbank" went on to describe the entire west-side community for the next century. Several of today's named neighbourhoods, including Glenrosa, Gellatly, Lakeview Heights, Sunnyside, and Westbank itself, have roots dating back to the early-to-mid 19th century, long before anyone was calling this place a city, or even a municipality.
Westbank Centre, where that original post office sat, is still the civic and commercial heart of the area today, home to the Westbank Museum, which hosts guided tours of the century-old Westbank Cemetery, and to Memorial Park and the Johnson Bentley Memorial Aquatic Centre.
Incorporation wasn't a foregone conclusion. Westside residents had already rejected becoming their own municipality in 1980 and again in 1994. It finally went to a referendum in June 2007, and the vote was close: 5,924 in favour of incorporating on their own, against 5,582 who preferred amalgamating with the City of Kelowna across the lake. On December 6, 2007, the "Westside District Municipality" was born, with Rosalind Neis as its first mayor.
The name didn't last. In a 2008 referendum, residents were asked to pick a permanent name, and "West Kelowna" beat out "Westbank" by a slim margin, 3,841 votes to 3,675. The municipality was officially renamed West Kelowna on January 30, 2009. It gained full city status on June 26, 2015, making it one of the youngest cities in British Columbia, younger, in fact, than many of the homes inside its own boundaries.
Rosalind Neis served as the first mayor from 2007 to 2008. Doug Findlater followed for three terms. Gord Milsom was elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2022. Stephen Johnston was elected by acclamation for the 2026 term.
The Westbank First Nation operates two self-governing reserves bordering the city, Tsinstikeptum 9 and Tsinstikeptum 10, with self-government powers secured through treaty agreements. Several of our neighbourhood pages note how close they sit to these reserves; land tenure on WFN land works differently than standard fee-simple ownership elsewhere in the city. See our guide to leasehold properties on WFN land for how that works.
In August 2023, the McDougall Creek wildfire forced extensive evacuations across the city and destroyed more than fifty homes along with a historic resort. The city has kept investing in recovery and infrastructure since: a new Lakeview Heights fire hall, a roughly $14.3 million project, officially opened in October 2025.
Historically, yes. "Westbank" was the name for this entire side of the lake for over a century, dating to a 1902 post office. When the municipality incorporated in 2007, residents voted in 2008 to rename it "West Kelowna" instead of keeping "Westbank," by a margin of only 166 votes. Westbank Centre and the Westbank First Nation still carry the original name today.
It gained official city status on June 26, 2015, making it one of the youngest cities in British Columbia, even though neighbourhoods like Glenrosa and Lakeview Heights have roots going back to the early-to-mid 19th century.
Residents rejected incorporation twice before, in 1980 and 1994. It finally passed in a 2007 referendum by a close margin, 5,924 to 5,582, with the alternative being amalgamation into the City of Kelowna across the lake.
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