The pace of new construction has plunged recently in West Kelowna with Q2 permit values at only 15 per cent of last year's level.聽
Construction values from April through June were only $18 million, far below the $123 million in the same period last year, and well below the Q2 five-year average of $63 million. The year-to-date value is $47 million, compared to $148 million in 2024.
In Q2 this year, the city issued 149 building permits, compared to 183 last year and the most recent five year Q2 average of 205 building permits. The year-to-date issuance of building permits is 25 per cent below last year, and 35 per cent below the most recent five-year average.
And 99 business licenses were issued from April through June this year, compared to 174 in the same timeframe last year.聽
The overall impression conveyed in the development statistics, contained in a staff report going to city council on Tuesday, is of a building and development sector that is much quieter than it has been in recent years.聽
It means fewer construction workers are working, fewer homes are being built despite the province's well-publicized housing shortage, and the city will be getting far less tax revenue than previously anticipated.聽
That's at least partly the result of the provincial government鈥檚 mismanagement of public finances which has created a pallor over the B.C. economy, according to Jock Finlayson, chief economist at the Independent Contractors and Business Association.聽
Across B.C., the provincial government鈥檚 deficit this year will be almost $11 billion, possibly as high as $16 billion, and the total provincial debt is at $166 billion, a $105 billion increase in the three years since David Eby became premier in 2022.
Debt-servicing costs are now the third largest line item in the budget, after health care and education.聽
鈥淪tated plainly, the Eby government has taken a wrecking ball to British Columbia鈥檚 public finances,鈥 Finlayson writes in a recent commentary.聽
Meanwhile, the City of West Kelowna filled 34 staff vacancies from April through June, with the employee count now at 375. And the RCMP has been busier this year in West Kelowna than the force was during the first half of 2024, with calls for service at 2,246 compared to 1,967.