Population growth in Kamloops city limits exceeds KamPlan projection

KAMLOOPS — Latest census reporting from Statistics Canada shows Kamloops grew by about 8.4 per cent in the last five years — from 90,280 residents living within city limits in 2016 to 97,902 in 2021.

Development, Engineering and Sustainability Director Marvin Kwiatkowski says this was a larger increase than the municipality’s typical growth range of roughly 1.25 per cent. It’s also higher than what was anticipated in the five-year Official Community Plan (also known as KamPlan) which guides planning and land use management.

“Our KamPlan number would have been 6.4 per cent so we’re a couple per cent higher in that five-year period than what KamPlan predicted. We’ll have a pretty good idea here as we see all the growth happening if we need to do some tweaks.”

With any population swell, Kamloops Mayor Ken Christian says one of the first areas that needs to be focused on is housing.

“We just don’t have the housing stock to handle the increase in population and thereby its causing prices to go up and that really is that affordability piece,” Christian says, “and, unfortunately, some people are falling below that level where they can actually afford housing, and now we deal with that as part of our social issues. It’s all connected.”

Kwiatkowski adds there are areas within KamPlan the city hopes to see growth in — both with infilling existing neighbourhoods, and expanding on those with available land.

“It’s in the plan. The struggles we could run into is if the land owner isn’t interested in developing. That could become another pinch point in the future, too,” he explains.

More people also means more healthcare service needs. Christian notes the incoming Patient Care Tower at Royal Inland Hospital will need specialists and staff, and family doctors are still a hot commodity in Kamloops.

“Accessing a family physician has been a problem not just in Kamloops but all over the B.C Interior. And its’ one that I think we’re trying to address through the southern BC Medical School and the residency program that we have here.”

Transportation is another adjustment. In the coming years the City will be adding new connection roads between neighbourhoods, implementing plans to reduce traffic congestion, while expanding bus service and active transportation routes.

“As you’ve got more housing and more people you typically have more demands on the transportation system, so you’ll see that.”

While Kamloops has a few thousand more residents than it did five years ago, Kwiatkowski says the official community plan won’t need major upheaval right away, as KamPlan was designed with growth in mind.

“Of course, the numbers are higher but it’s not like all of a sudden the bells are going off and we have to re-jig and re-visit the whole plan.”