Vernon's commercial history and interesting facts

Before Vernon: Nintle Moos Chin

Long before European settlement, the Syilx (Okanagan) people called this place Nintle Moos Chin, meaning "jumping over place where the creek narrows". The name refers to the narrow point of the creek that runs from Swan Lake through what is now downtown. Today downtown is the civic and commercial core that the Official Community Plan builds around.

From Priest's Valley to a city

The early settlement was known as Priest's Valley. In 1890 the Commonage Road was the stagecoach route from Priest's Valley south to the Mission, today's Kelowna. More than a century later, the Commonage is still at the centre of local development debates.

The city takes its name from Forbes George Vernon, a former member of the provincial legislature who helped establish the Coldstream Ranch. Vernon was incorporated as a city on 30 December 1892, and it is often described as the first incorporated city in the Okanagan.

• 1891railway arrives
• 1892incorporated, 30 December
• 1893steamships on Okanagan Lake

The railway arrived in 1891, and steamship service on Okanagan Lake began in 1893, connecting Vernon's farms and merchants to the rest of the valley. The Okanagan Mounted Rifles formed in 1908, and a military presence brought people and spending to the city during both World Wars.

Sources: Vernon, British Columbia; Predator Ridge, history of the area.

The airport moves to Okanagan Landing

Aviation in Vernon began at Mission Hill in 1919. In 1946 the City moved its airport to the current site at Okanagan Landing, and in July 1947 the Department of Transport licensed the expanded runway. A runway realignment with pilot-operated lighting was completed in July 1986.

Today Vernon Regional Airport has a single asphalt runway, 05/23, 3,517 ft (1,072 m) long, at an elevation of 1,141 ft. The City owns it and the Vernon Regional Airport Corporation operates it. It had about 130 based aircraft in 2015, with the master plan projecting about 180 by 2035. For commercial property, the airport's legacy is its own zone, INDA, and building height limits that still apply across parts of Okanagan Landing.

Sources: Vernon Regional Airport; Airport Master Plan.

Made in Vernon

The City's economic development office names three "made-in-Vernon success stories": Kal Tire, Tolko Industries and Okanagan Spring Brewery.

• Kal Tire was founded in Vernon in 1953 by Thomas J. Foord and Jim Lochhead to serve passenger vehicles and logging operations. It is still headquartered here, with more than 6,500 team members and 270+ stores across Canada. Vernon's main arena is Kal Tire Place.
• Tolko Industries, the forest products company, keeps its corporate office at 3000 28th Street.
• Okanagan Spring Brewery is a reminder that brewing is an established local industry; today, major alcohol production is a listed use in Vernon's INDL light industrial zone.

Sources: City of Vernon sector profiles; Kal Tire; Tolko.

A city that doubled

Vernon had about 20,500 residents in 1981. By the 2021 Census it had 44,519, up 11% from 40,116 in 2016, and the wider Greater Vernon area had 67,086. The City projects 62,366 residents by 2041 and roughly 20,000 new residents by 2045. The median age rose from 45 in 2006 to 49 in 2021, which is part of why health care now accounts for 15% of local jobs.

Sources: OCP Chapter 2; OCP residents' summary; OCP Chapter 3.

Two zoning bylaws in twenty years

Zoning Bylaw 5000 governed Vernon from July 2004 until 24 June 2024, when Zoning Bylaw 6000 replaced it. The new bylaw was redesigned around the Province's 2023 housing legislation (Bills 44 and 47) and collapsed the old commercial and industrial zones into five: CMUN, CMUB, CMUC, INDL and INDA. Eighteen months later, OCP Bylaw 6200 set the city's growth map to 2045. Anyone relying on old listing sheets or appraisals is reading the old rulebook. See the zoning guide.

Quick facts for your next meeting

• About 106,000 people live within 15 minutes of Vernon, about 115,000 within 30 minutes and about 280,000 within an hour, according to the City.
• Vernon is about 4.5 hours from Vancouver, about 3 hours from the US border and about 30 minutes from Kelowna International Airport, by the City's figures.
• Three highways meet here: 97 north and south, 97A to Armstrong and Enderby, and 6 east to Lumby.
• The Downtown Vernon Association counts more than 500 downtown businesses, and the Sunshine Festival reached its 32nd year in 2026.
• Kal Tire Place served as the reception centre for Bradley Creek wildfire evacuees on 1 August 2026.
• Council meetings move to Tuesdays starting 1 November 2026.

Sources: City of Vernon, moving to Vernon; Downtown Vernon Association; City of Vernon news; Council highlights, 25 May 2026.

For the residential side of Vernon's story and homes for sale, visit realestatevernon.ca.