Secure Defence is a live video monitoring company. We started in BC in 2015, our command centre is in Richmond, and we now have 500+ customers and 1,000+ sites live monitored across Western Canada, from the Okanagan to Kamloops. The Globe and Mail and BIV both ranked us the Fastest Growing Security Company in Canada in 2025 and 2026.
Here is how our service works. Cameras on your property send video to our operators. AI filters out wind, animals and headlights and flags people and vehicles. A trained, licensed operator then watches the live feed and decides what to do: speak to the person through the on-site speaker, trigger lights and a siren, or call police with a verified crime in progress. Because a person confirms every event, you get zero false alarms, and response takes about one minute.
Kelowna's building boom has cooled from its peak but it hasn't stopped. Permit values hit a record $1.756 billion in 2023, then dropped to $646 million in 2024 (Castanet). CMHC counted 2,600 housing starts in the Kelowna metro area in 2025 (CMHC). Fewer starts doesn't mean safer sites, as the break-in numbers above show.
Big jobs right now include the UBCO Downtown tower on Doyle Avenue and the terminal expansion at Kelowna International Airport. Infill and townhome work keeps going in Lower Mission, Glenmore and Westbank.
Thieves on Okanagan sites go after copper wire, tools, appliances waiting to be installed, and fuel. Our operators watch the fence line, the laydown yard and the containers. The usual answer is pole cameras running off site power, installed in 5 to 7 days and protected by 24-hour backup power. For a bare lot with no hydro yet, a solar tower can be up within 24 hours. Okanagan builders can learn more from construction site security in the Kelowna area and our construction page.
Kelowna had the highest rental vacancy of any major BC centre in CMHC's October 2025 survey: 6.3% across 10,680 units (CMHC Rental Market Survey). New rental buildings with empty suites, quiet amenity rooms and underground parking need someone watching. In Kamloops the picture is the opposite, with vacancy at 1.2%, so the buildings are full and the parkades are busy.
For strata councils and property managers, we watch parkade gates, lobbies, mail rooms, bike storage and garbage areas. Operators warn off trespassers before they get inside, and you get a clip of every incident to share with council. For Okanagan stratas, read strata live video monitoring, strata property management security, parkade security, residential strata security and commercial strata security, or the main strata and property management page.
Business break-ins in Kelowna dipped to 389 in 2025 from 414, but shoplifting rose 6% (City of Kelowna council report, RCMP data). Kelowna RCMP also reported more downtown disorder calls in December 2025 than in past Decembers, and rising mischief over $5,000 (Kelowna RCMP).
Plazas along Harvey Avenue and around Orchard Park, and the shops downtown and in Rutland, get after-hours monitoring of storefronts, back lanes and parking lots. Okanagan retailers: shopping centre and strip mall security and retail.
Some of our Okanagan sites are far from town. Wineries in Lake Country, East Kelowna and the Naramata Bench have tasting rooms, barrel sheds and equipment spread across a property. Orchards keep sprayers, bins and fuel in open yards. We watch these the same way we watch a building site, with more focus on the gate and the access road. Remote gravel and forestry sites near Kamloops and the North Okanagan can be covered too. Okanagan resource operators can visit resource site security, industrial and truck yard security and farm security.
Kamloops is part of our Kelowna area, but it has its own risks. Its Crime Severity Index was 126.2 in 2025, well above Kelowna's 103.7 and Canada's 75.0 (Statistics Canada). Kamloops RCMP reported 1,672 shoplifting files in 2025, up 13% (Kamloops RCMP year-end report to council). On the build side, the $386 million Kamloops Cancer Centre at Royal Inland Hospital is underway and due in 2028.
Risk in the Okanagan moves with the seasons, so we plan monitoring around them.
| Season | What changes | What we watch |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | Sites restart, materials arrive in bulk | Deliveries, laydown yards, fuel |
| Summer | About 2.2 million tourists a year visit Kelowna (City of Kelowna); wildfire season begins | Plazas, hotels, winery lots, smoke on lenses |
| Fire evacuations | Crews and owners leave; sites sit empty | Remote eyes on abandoned sites |
| Fall | Harvest, more trucks and seasonal staff | Winery gates, orchard yards |
| Winter | Early darkness, slower work, cold valley nights | Long overnight windows on quiet sites |
Wildfire is the season that matters most. The 2023 McDougall Creek fire destroyed nearly 200 homes, and rebuilding was still going on two years later (Castanet). When an evacuation order empties a neighbourhood, our operators keep watching from Richmond. If smoke or ash fouls a lens, we tell you so it can be cleaned.
Crime at our client sites drops by 98% or more. We're insurance-approved and award-winning, and live monitoring can save up to 70% compared with guards. New Okanagan clients are backed by our 30-Day Performance Guarantee.
"Great company to use for data/live monitoring. Wonderful service!" Caleb Vanderveen, Project Manager
Areas we cover: Kelowna (Downtown, Rutland, Glenmore, Lower Mission), West Kelowna and Westbank, Lake Country, Peachland, Penticton, Summerland, Vernon, Coldstream and Kamloops (Sahali, North Shore, Aberdeen).
We cover all of them. Our Kelowna area includes West Kelowna, Lake Country, Peachland, Penticton, Summerland, Vernon and Kamloops.
Yes. Most of our sites run on site power, but for a field or yard with no hydro we use a solar camera tower. We can have it running in a day, and a full charge lasts two weeks.
Okanagan installs on site power wrap up in 5 to 7 days, and we can rush one. Backup power for 24 hours is included at every powered site.
Our command centre is in Richmond, not in the fire zone, so operators keep watching your site after everyone has left. If smoke or ash blocks a camera, we let you know right away.
Yes. We monitor parkades, lobbies, bike rooms and garbage areas for stratas and rental buildings, and we send clips of every incident so council or the owner has a clear record.
Usually, yes. We can monitor any ONVIF camera, whatever the brand. We'll check your system during the free site assessment.
Yes, if they're set up properly. BC's Personal Information Protection Act applies to stratas, so councils should have a clear reason for each camera, post signs, and limit who can see the footage. We help you place cameras on common areas only.
Tell us about your site, whether it's a tower downtown, a strata in Rutland or a vineyard on the Bench. We'll come back with a plan and a quote.