The Province has issued letters patent to formally incorporate Okanagan Falls as a new municipality, to be known as the District of Okanagan Falls. Incorporation is expected to take effect on November 6, 2026, following the community’s majority vote in favour of incorporation in March 2025. This marks the first municipal incorporation in BC in 13 years, and is the first letters patent to be issued since the enactment of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.
With incorporation, governance will transition from a single electoral area director within the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen to a municipal council consisting of a mayor and four councillors, to be elected in the October 17, 2026 general local elections.
The letter patent outlines details about the municipality including its boundary, and the transition of services such as water, sewer, parks, roads and fire protection.
As the first letters patent issued since the enactment of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, it recognizes that the area lies within the traditional territory of the Syilx (Okanagan) People, represented locally by the Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB). The letters patent also includes a framework for ongoing collaboration between the municipality and OIB, including the potential for a reconciliation agreement. This includes the establishment of a reconciliation advisory body composed of individuals selected by OIB and members of the new municipal council. The advisory board will advise on OIB’s relationship to the land within the municipality and matters of significance to the OIB. The advisory body will also ensuring Indigenous perspectives are considered in municipal decision-making.
The process to get the letters patent took 14 months from the time the community voted.