End of regional policing in Central Okanagan has local politicians crying foul

Central Okanagan policing was a regional force until recently, and West Kelowna officials are now calling on the province to pay up.

Kelowna RCMP is in the process of “de-regionalization,” leaving West Kelowna, Westbank First Nation and Peachland with growing costs to their policing budgets.

According to local officials from the three communities, the region has seen years of “chronic underfunding” of provincial police services, while the province is “allowing the de-regionalization” of RCMP in the Central Okanagan.

“For years I’ve been advocating the province to step up and fund policing on the Westside, and now with the splitting up of the policing services in the Central Okanagan, it’s more important than ever that all parties pay their fair share,” West Kelowna Mayor Gord Milsom said in a news release issued today, Feb. 6.

West Kelowna-Peachland opposition MLA Macklin McCall said the province has “ignored” a business case for Westside policing for years.

While West Kelowna has voiced displeasure with the change for months, Westbank First Nation joined the call for the province provide “adequate” funding.

In September 2025, the City of West Kelowna issued a news release to say there were unanswered questions as the regional policing model was in process of splitting.

The change left a vacancy of seven to eight officers in provincially-funded positions, the city said.

The splitting of detachments had been in planning since 2024 and Kelowna RCMP told iNFOnews.ca it will ease the burden on administrative staff within its own local department.

They will continue to share some units, but it’s not clear how much the change is going to impact the budgets in smaller communities. Meanwhile, the Kelowna RCMP budget has doubled since 2020, nearing $80 million last year.

A spokesperson for the province’s Solicitor General and Public Safety Ministry was not immediately available to respond.