who are we now?

They are boomers and zoomers. Gen Alphas, X s and Z s . Some come from around the bend, and more, many more, from all around the planet. The faces of our hometowns and backyard holiday hangouts are changing faster than ever before.

P: Jeff Pew With word-of-mouth and selfies having spread news of our backyard bounty of shorelines, funky business strolls and snowy bowls, the allure of life or leisure in this neck of the East Kootenays hasn’t remained much of a secret for the last few decades.

Ask any long time local or multi-generational second home owner who regularly travels here from the prairies, Lower Mainland or across the line. Lots of them have contentedly milked the good life ’til the cows came home.

Fact is, according to Canada’s latest census — released in 2021 and likely already behind the times — the bovine is definitely out of the bag.

Worldometer, a website that tracks the United Nations’ 2022 Population Revision Report minute to minute, brings the census stats, and the bigger picture, into even sharper focus.

The site shows that in this era of disruption and poly-crises, global denizens of all sorts are heading to safer places with fewer people and friendlier futures.

Some other facts from Cranbrook, Kimberley and company to consider: Canada ranks…. Canada ranks 16th out of 195 countries on the UN’s Human Development Index, between New Zealand, and yes, Liechtenstein. During the pandemic, more people relocated to British Columbia than any other province. And while the population in places like Kelowna, Chilliwack and Nanaimo surged by over 10 percent between 2016 to 2021, the little ol’ East Kootenay wasn't far behind.

So. Who are your new neighbours? What’s their jam? And where do our old neighbours fit in?

New GO Cranberley scribe Jesse Heinrichs and veteran writer/photographer Jeff Pew set out to find some answers.