News release
Yee-Haw, Kelowna RCMP see successful CCMA
September 18, 2025
-
Kelowna, British Columbia
From: Kelowna RCMP
On this page
Content
The City of Kelowna is still buzzing with excitement from the recent Canadian Country Music Week concluding with the crown jewel, the Canadian Country Music Awards (CCMAs) that roped in the city.
Prior to the event and in preparation for the influx of visitors to our community, the Kelowna RCMP began planning when the announcement was initially made over a year ago. Extra boots on the ground, utilizing the RCMP drone, and the police boats were all part of the effort to ensure public safety during this massive event.
“There wasn’t anything out of the ordinary reported to police,” says Sgt. Laura Pollock, Kelowna RCMP Media Relations Officer. “The event was well organized and for the most part the people that attended were well-behaved.”
The extent of police files generated during the event were minimal with the majority being Cause of Disturbance files, mostly related to alcohol. In total, from September 10-14, 2025, in the downtown core, the site of several CCMA events, police opened 88 founded files. Compare that number to the 84 founded files at the same time and location in 2024 and police didn’t really see a difference despite the influx of people to the same area.
“We had a tremendous police presence downtown during the event and that certainly helped,” says Sgt. Pollock. “We know that when we have a high complement of police officers in a condensed area, the percentage of crime decreases significantly. We would like to thank the public for showcasing Kelowna to be a safe community.”
It’s estimated that thousands of visitors came to Kelowna to enjoy the CCMAs with an estimated economic impact of $10 million.
“We look forward to continuing to showcase our community at the next big event, the 2026 Memorial Cup,” says Sgt. Pollock.
