DEMOGRAPHICS

Population: The trading area has a population base of over 68 thousand people. Although the area is considered by many as rural, 70 per cent of people live within municipalities. In some of the resort towns, like Invermere and Radium Hot Springs, populations fluctuate significantly seasonally, with a peak in July and August.

Location: The East Kootenay is located in the southeast corner of the Province of British Columbia, along the western edge of the Rocky Mountains. The region is bordered by Alberta on the east, Montana and Idaho to the south, the Purcell Mountains in the west and the Columbia Shuswap Regional District to the north. The region is 28,244.3 km2 in size, and represents 3.2 per cent of the province’s land base.  1

First Nations have occupied the lands within the East Kootenay region for more than 10,000 years. There are two First Nations within the region: the Ktunaxa Nation and the Shuswap Indian Band.

The Ktunaxa are represented by the Ktunaxa Nation Council, which includes four bands. They are the Akisqnuk (Windermere), St. Mary’s Band (Cranbrook), Tobacco Plains Band (Grasmere) and the Lower Kootenay Band (Creston, which is part of the Central Kootenay Regional District). There are also two bands within the United States, with the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho (Bonners Ferry) and Ksanka Band (Elmo, Montana).

The Shuswap Indian Band, of the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council were traditionally travelers who settled in the area about 200 years ago. The band’s reserve is located just east of Invermere.
There is also the Kootenay Region Métis Association in Cranbrook.

Labour Market:  20 per cent of residents have a non-university degree or diploma, 15 per cent have a trades certificate and 10 per cent a university degree.

As of September 2008, only 2.9 per cent of East Kootenay residents were receiving income assistance or EI benefits, compared with the provincial percentage of 3.6.
In early 2009, these rates increased because of the global financial crisis.  Many of the layoffs were in forestry, mining, and their servicing industries.

The average income in the East Kootenay in 2006 was $37,420, up nearly nine per cent from 2005. The average income in B.C. in 2006 was $38,532, up just over eight per cent from 2005.

About 22 per cent of people are employed in services, 16 per cent in construction and manufacturing, 15 in wholesale and retail trade, 13 in agriculture or resources, and 13 in business services.

The majority of the population (about 25 per cent) is age 25 – 44, with the other ranges spread equally.
   
Training:  The Kootenay Rockies region, which includes the East Kootenay, Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) and Town of Golden, which is part of the Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) boasts College of the Rockies (COTR), with the main campus in Cranbrook. COTR has satellite campuses in Golden, Invermere, Creston, Fernie and Kimberley. There are also other institutions, like the Academy of Learning.  International students are welcomed, apprenticeship programs abound, and French immersion is offered in some communities. 

Source: RDEK regional profile, 2009
1  Source: Statistics Canada. 2007. 2006 Census Community Profiles
Source: www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca
Source: Statistics Canada. 2007. 2006 Census Community Profiles
Source: Statistics Canada. 2007. 2006 Census Community Profiles and 2001 Census Community Profiles