# Thompson-Nicola Regional District

The Thompson–Nicola Regional District is a regional district in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The Canada 2021 Census population was 143,680 and the area covers 44,449.49 square kilometres. The administrative offices are in the main population centre of Kamloops, which accounts for 78 percent of the regional district's population. The only other city is Merritt; other municipally-incorporated communities include the District Municipalities of Logan Lake, Barriere and Clearwater and the Villages of Chase, Ashcroft, Cache Creek, Clinton and Lytton, and also the Mountain Resort Municipality of Sun Peaks.
The region is named indirectly for the Thompson River by way of the traditional regional names of "the Thompson Country" and "the Nicola Country"; the Nicola Country was named for Chief Nicola and was originally "Nicola's Country", where he held sway; he is also the namesake of that river. The regional district government operates over 125 services including libraries, solid waste management and recycling, community services, emergency and development services, a film commission. The region is unique in Canada as it consistently holds around some of the hottest summer temperatures in the country, while also containing an area around Ashcroft that may be the only arid climate in Canada.

## Municipalities

| Municipality | Government Type | Population (2021) |
| Kamloops | city | 97,902 |
| Merritt | city | 7,051 |
| Chase | village | 2,399 |
| Clearwater | district municipality | 2,388 |
| Logan Lake | district municipality | 2,255 |
| Barriere | district municipality | 1,765 |
| Ashcroft | village | 1,670 |
| Cache Creek | village | 969 |
| Clinton | village | 646 |
| Sun Peaks | mountain resort municipality | 1,404 |
| Lytton | village | 210 |

## Unincorporated communities

* 16 Mile
* 70 Mile House
* Adams Lake
* Agate Bay
* Alpine Valley
* Aspen Grove
* Avola
* Barnhartvale (East)
* Big Bar
* Birch Island
* Black Pines
* Blackpool
* Blue River
* Botanie Valley
* Brookmere
* Canford
* Chasm
* Cherry Creek
* Darfield
* Del Oro
* Eagan Lake
* East Barriere Lake
* East Blackpool
* Heffley Lake
* Iron Mountain
* Jesmond
* Kane Valley
* Kelly Lake
* Knouff Lake
* Knutsford
* Lac Le Jeune
* Little Fort
* Loon Lake
* Louis Creek
* Lower Hat Creek (Carquile)
* Lower Nicola
* McLure
* Monte Creek
* Monte Lake
* Paul Lake
* Paxton Valley
* Pinantan Lake
* Pressy Lake
* Pritchard
* Quilchena
* Rivershore
* Savona
* South Green Lake
* Spences Bridge
* Stump Lake
* Sunshine Valley
* Thompson River Estates
* Tobiano
* Turtle Valley
* Upper Clearwater
* Upper Hat Creek
* Vavenby
* Venables Valley
* Walhachin
* Westwold
* Whitecroft

## Electoral areas

* Electoral Area "A" (Wells Gray Country)
* Electoral Area "B" (Thompson Headwaters)
* Electoral Area "E" (Bonaparte Plateau)
* Electoral Area "I" (Blue Sky Country)
* Electoral Area "J" (Copper Desert Country)
* Electoral Area "L"
* Electoral Area "M"
* Electoral Area "N"
* Electoral Area "O"
* Electoral Area "P" (Rivers and the Peaks)

## Demographics

As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Thompson-Nicola Regional District had a population of 143,680 living in 59,885 of its 65,065 total private dwellings, a change of 8.3% from its 2016 population of 132,663. With a land area of 44,347.23 km$^2$ (17,122.56 sq mi), it had a population density of 3.2/km$^2$ (8.4/sq mi) in 2021.
Panethnic groups in the Thompson–Nicola Regional District (1991–2021) :
| Panethnic group | 2021 | 2021 | 2016 | 2016 | 2011 | 2011 | 2006 | 2006 | 2001 | 2001 | 1996 | 1996 | 1991 | 1991 |
| Panethnic group | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % |
| European | 107,770 | 77.38% | 103,015 | 79.84% | 104,615 | 83.05% | 101,590 | 83.8% | 101,215 | 85.29% | 102,055 | 86.5% | 88,095 | 85.09% |
| Indigenous | 19,420 | 13.94% | 17,555 | 13.61% | 14,425 | 11.45% | 13,200 | 10.89% | 11,590 | 9.77% | 9,985 | 8.46% | 10,900 | 10.53% |
| South Asian | 4,940 | 3.55% | 2,960 | 2.29% | 2,445 | 1.94% | 2,325 | 1.92% | 2,525 | 2.13% | 2,505 | 2.12% | 2,270 | 2.19% |
| East Asian | 2,895 | 2.08% | 2,710 | 2.1% | 2,500 | 1.98% | 2,330 | 1.92% | 2,130 | 1.79% | 2,255 | 1.91% | 1,480 | 1.43% |
| Southeast Asian | 1,670 | 1.2% | 1,145 | 0.89% | 845 | 0.67% | 935 | 0.77% | 520 | 0.44% | 495 | 0.42% | 450 | 0.43% |
| African | 1,200 | 0.86% | 700 | 0.54% | 305 | 0.24% | 245 | 0.2% | 400 | 0.34% | 255 | 0.22% | 180 | 0.17% |
| Latin American | 585 | 0.42% | 345 | 0.27% | 175 | 0.14% | 240 | 0.2% | 145 | 0.12% | 175 | 0.15% | 90 | 0.09% |
| Middle Eastern | 345 | 0.25% | 285 | 0.22% | 490 | 0.39% | 150 | 0.12% | 70 | 0.06% | 75 | 0.06% | 70 | 0.07% |
| Other | 435 | 0.31% | 205 | 0.16% | 165 | 0.13% | 195 | 0.16% | 60 | 0.05% | 180 | 0.15% | — | — |
| Total responses | 139,265 | 96.93% | 129,020 | 97.25% | 125,960 | 98.05% | 121,225 | 99.13% | 118,665 | 99.53% | 117,980 | 99.31% | 103,535 | 99.18% |
| Total population | 143,680 | 100% | 132,663 | 100% | 128,471 | 100% | 122,286 | 100% | 119,222 | 100% | 118,801 | 100% | 104,386 | 100% |
* Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses.

## Parks

The regional district contains more than 60 provincial parks. See List of provincial parks of Thompson-Nicola Regional District.