The City of Kelowna was recently voted the most business friendly city in B.C. according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

The CFIB's Communities in Boom: Canada's Top Entrepreneurial Cities, compares 100 of Canada's large and mid-sized municipalities based on: the number of small businesses in a community, the degree of business optimism, and on the effectiveness of local and provincial policy on businesses. 

Kelowna was ranked 13th overall in the country and number one in B.C.

Below are the 12 core indictors that were measured to arrive at the final score:

Presence:
  1. Net business start ups
  2. Businesses per capita
  3. Self-employement intensity
  4. Industry employment diversity

Perspective:
  5. Future business performance
  6. Future full-time hiring expectations
  7. Overall state of business

Policy:
    8. Cost of local government
    9. Local government sensitivity to local business
  10. Local government regulation
  11. Local government tax balance
  12. Whether local government has subscribed to the ‘bizpal’ program

In the category of "presence" Kelowna was given a score of 74 out of 100, which is considered a strong score by the CIFB.  Kelowna was recognized as a diverse economy with lots of business start-ups and showed an above average growth in the number of business establishments.

 Here are some of the other top B.C. cities:

• Prince George placed 26th
• Penticton 31st
• Kamloops 35th
• Vernon 40th
• Nanaimo 51st
• Victoria 71st
• Vancouver 93rd

The top city in the country with the best entrepreneurial edge was Grand Prairie, Alberta.  Living in Kelowna is life truly set apart and it continues to be full of opportunities for the business minded.  Congrats to all the incredible businesses that helped to make Kelowna the most friendly place to do business in British Columbia

Sincerely,

Jason Neumann