The District of North Saanich is located on the

Saanich Peninsula Saanich Peninsula ( str, W̱SÁNEĆ) is located north of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It is bounded by Saanich Inlet on the west, Satellite Channel on the north, the small Colburne Passage on the northeast, and Haro Strait on the east. The ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, approximately north of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

on southern

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...

. It is one of the 13 Greater Victoria municipalities. The District is surrounded on three sides by of ocean shoreline, and consists of rural/residential areas, a large agricultural base and is home to the

Victoria International Airport Victoria International Airport serves Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It is north northwest of Victoria on the Saanich Peninsula, with the bulk of the airport (including the passenger terminal) in North Saanich, and a small portion of the ...

and the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal.

History

In July 1905, North Saanich, then including the townsite of Sidney, was incorporated with the original Municipal Hall located in Sidney. Lacking population and a firm tax base, the municipality was dissolved in 1911. In 1940, the site of the present

was selected as a military forces base and the area boomed with the influx of 10,000 military personnel, leading to incorporation for the Village of Sidney in 1952. Four years later, the residents of the North Saanich unorganized area, numbering 2,865, requested that letters patent be issued to form the "North Saanich Fire Prevention District" with power to own property, to tax and to borrow. In 1965, after a favourable public vote, the letters patent were withdrawn and the North Saanich Municipal District was established with offices at the present location on Mills Road.

Demographics

In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada, North Saanich had a population of 12,235 living in 5,010 of its 5,235 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 11,249. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Ethnicity

Religion

According to the 2021 census, religious groups in North Saanich included: *

Irreligion Irreligion or nonreligion is the absence or rejection of religion, or indifference to it. Irreligion takes many forms, ranging from the casual and unaware to full-fledged philosophies such as atheism and agnosticism, secular humanism and ...

(6,910 persons or 56.7%) *

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

(4,905 persons or 40.2%) *

Sikhism Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...

(150 persons or 1.2%) *

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

(100 persons or 0.8%) *

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...

(20 persons or 0.2%) *Other (110 persons or 0.9%)

Fauna

The largest animal to be found in North Saanich is the cougar. Other native mammals include the

black-tailed deer Two forms of black-tailed deer or blacktail deer that occupy coastal woodlands in the Pacific Northwest of North America are subspecies of the mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus''). They have sometimes been treated as a species, but virtually all r ...

, mink, otter,

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...

, and

deer mouse ''Peromyscus'' is a genus of rodents. They are commonly referred to as deer mice or deermice, not to be confused with the chevrotain or "mouse deer". They are New World mice only distantly related to the common house and laboratory mouse, ''Mu ...

. Of introduced mammal species, the

cottontail rabbit Cottontail rabbits are the leporid species in the genus ''Sylvilagus'', found in the Americas. Most ''Sylvilagus'' species have stub tails with white undersides that show when they retreat, giving them their characteristic name. However, this ...

and

gray squirrel Gray squirrel or grey squirrel may refer to several species of squirrel indigenous to North America: *The eastern gray squirrel (''Sciurus carolinensis''), from the eastern United States and southeastern Canada; introduced into the United Kingdom, I ...

are often seen. Common native birds include the northwestern crow,

common raven The common raven (''Corvus corax'') is a large all-black passerine bird. It is the most widely distributed of all corvids, found across the Northern Hemisphere. It is a raven known by many names at the subspecies level; there are at least ...

, bald eagle,

turkey vulture The turkey vulture (''Cathartes aura'') is the most widespread of the New World vultures. One of three species in the genus '' Cathartes'' of the family Cathartidae, the turkey vulture ranges from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of Sout ...

, American robin, varied thrush, Steller's jay, and several species of

gull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century ...

. Introduced birds are represented by the abundant common starling and the now declining

Eurasian skylark The Eurasian skylark (''Alauda arvensis'') is a passerine bird in the lark family, Alaudidae. It is a widespread species found across Europe and the Palearctic with introduced populations in New Zealand, Australia and on the Hawaiian Islands. ...

Flora

The most common native tree in North Saanich is Douglas fir. The other common large conifers are ''

Abies grandis ''Abies grandis'' (grand fir, giant fir, lowland white fir, great silver fir, western white fir, Vancouver fir, or Oregon fir) is a fir native to the Pacific Northwest and Northern California of North America, occurring at altitudes of sea leve ...

'' (grand fir) and ''

Thuja plicata ''Thuja plicata'' is an evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to western North America. Its common name is western redcedar (western red cedar in the UK), and it is also called Pacific redcedar, giant arborvitae, w ...

'' (western red cedar). ''

Tsuga heterophylla ''Tsuga heterophylla'', the western hemlock or western hemlock-spruce, is a species of hemlock native to the west coast of North America, with its northwestern limit on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, and its southeastern limit in northern Sonom ...

'' (western hemlock) is occasionally found. ''

Taxus brevifolia ''Taxus brevifolia'', the Pacific yew or western yew, is a species of tree in the yew family Taxaceae native to the Pacific Northwest of North America. It is a small evergreen conifer, thriving in moisture and otherwise tending to take the form ...

'' (Pacific yew) is a frequent

understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but abo ...

tree. The '' Arbutus menziesii'' (Pacific madrone) is a large broadleaf evergreen species. Large deciduous trees are ''

Populus balsamifera ''Populus balsamifera'', commonly called balsam poplar, bam, bamtree, eastern balsam-poplar, hackmatack, tacamahac poplar, tacamahaca, is a tree species in the balsam poplar species group in the poplar genus, ''Populus.'' The genus name ''Populu ...

'' (black cottonwood), ''

Acer macrophyllum ''Acer macrophyllum'', the bigleaf maple or Oregon maple, is a large deciduous tree in the genus '' Acer''. It is native to western North America, mostly near the Pacific coast, from southernmost Alaska to southern California. Some stands are a ...

'' (bigleaf maple), ''

Alnus rubra ''Alnus rubra'', the red alder, is a deciduous broadleaf tree native to western North America (Alaska, Yukon, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho and Montana). Description Red alder is the largest species of alder in North A ...

'' (red alder), and ''

Quercus garryana ''Quercus garryana'' is an oak tree species of the Pacific Northwest, with a range stretching from southern California to southwestern British Columbia. It is commonly known as the Oregon white oak or Oregon oak or, in Canada, the Garry oak. It ...

'' (Garry oak). Small deciduous species include ''

Prunus emarginata ''Prunus emarginata'', the bitter cherry or Oregon cherry, is a species of ''Prunus'' native to western North America, from British Columbia south to Baja California, and east as far as western Wyoming and New Mexico. It is often found in recent ...

'' (bitter cherry), ''

Rhamnus purshiana ''Frangula purshiana'' (cascara, cascara buckthorn, cascara sagrada, bearberry, and in the Chinook Jargon, chittem stick and chitticum stick; syn. ''Rhamnus purshiana'') is a species of plant in the family Rhamnaceae. It is native to western No ...

'' (cascara), ''

Malus fusca ''Malus fusca'', with the common names Oregon crabapple and Pacific crabapple, is a species of crabapple native to western North America. Description ''Malus fusca'' is a deciduous tree growing up to tall, with a trunk thick. The leaves are lo ...

'' (Pacific crabapple), ''

Cornus nuttallii ''Cornus nuttallii'', the Pacific dogwood, western dogwood, or mountain dogwood, is a species of dogwood tree native to western North America. Description It is a small to medium-sized deciduous tree, reaching tall, often with a canopy spre ...

'' (Pacific dogwood), ''

Populus tremuloides ''Populus tremuloides'' is a deciduous tree native to cooler areas of North America, one of several species referred to by the common name aspen. It is commonly called quaking aspen, trembling aspen, American aspen, mountain or golden aspen, tr ...

'' (quaking aspen), ''

Acer glabrum ''Acer glabrum'' is a species of maple native to western North America, from southeastern Alaska, British Columbia and western Alberta, east to western Nebraska, and south through Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Colorado to Californi ...

'' (Douglas maple), ''

Crataegus monogyna ''Crataegus monogyna'', known as common hawthorn, one-seed hawthorn, or single-seeded hawthorn, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. It is native to Europe, northwestern Africa, and West Asia, but has been introduced in ...

'' (common hawthorn) and '' Salix lucida'' (Pacific willow).

Climate

North Saanich has a warm-summer

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

(Köppen ''Csb'') with short, warm, and dry summers and long, cool, and wet winters.

Council and government

The 2022 – 2024 council is: * Mayor Peter Jones * Councillor Jack McClintock * Councillor Sanjiv Shrivastava * Councillor Celia Stock * Councillor Irene McConkey * Councillor Phil DiBattista * Councillor Brett Smyth The next election is scheduled for October 19, 2024, following provincial law. All municipalities in

will also hold elections on this date (the third Saturday of October every 4 years). Voters will vote for councillors, school board trustees and the mayor on the same ballot.

Education

Public schools serving North Saanich residents are operated by School District 63 Saanich. These include ḰELSET and Deep Cove Elementary Schools, North Saanich Middle School, and Parkland Secondary School.

Transportation

North Saanich can be accessed by highway on Highway 17 from

, Sidney or

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

(through the

BC Ferries British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., operating as BC Ferries (BCF), is a former provincial Crown corporation, now operating as an independently managed, publicly owned Canadian company. BC Ferries provides all major passenger and vehicle ferr ...

terminal at

Swartz Bay Swartz Bay, located on the north end of the Saanich Peninsula on Vancouver Island, is primarily known for being the location of one of BC Ferries' main terminals, the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal. Swartz Bay was named after John Aaron Swart, purchas ...

is also located in the municipality, which offers daily service to Calgary,

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

, SeaTac,

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, Kelowna,

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

and hourly service to Vancouver International from Air Canada Express. The airport also offers seasonal services to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

, with talk about expansion to Europe or Asia. North Saanich also has a floatplane aerodrome near the

Institute of Ocean Sciences The Institute of Ocean Sciences is operated by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and is one of the largest marine research centres in Canada. It is located on Patricia Bay and the former British Columbia Highway 17A in Sidney, British Columbia on Vanco ...

Patricia Bay Patricia Bay ("Pat Bay" to locals) is a body of salt water that extends east from Saanich Inlet and forms part of the shoreline of North Saanich, British Columbia. It lies due west of Victoria International Airport. A municipal park covers most of ...

, the

Victoria Airport Water Aerodrome Victoria Airport Water Aerodrome is a seaplane base located north northwest of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, adjacent to Victoria International Airport. The airport is classified as an airport of entry by Nav Canada and is staffed by th ...

. Formerly the hub for Pat Bay Air, the aerodrome is now served by

Harbour Air Seaplanes Harbour Air Seaplanes is a scheduled floatplane service, tour and charter airline based in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. The predominantly seaplane airline specializes in routes between Vancouver, Nanaimo, Victoria, Sechelt, Comox, Whi ...

Kenmore Air Kenmore Air Harbor, Inc., doing business as Kenmore Air, is an American airline with its headquarters on the grounds of Kenmore Air Harbor in Kenmore, Washington, United States, north of Seattle. It operates scheduled and charter seaplane and lan ...

, Ocean Air Floatplanes and

Salt Spring Air Salt Spring Air (also known as Saltspring AirSalt Spring Air
- Retrieved on June 6, 2016) part of Public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...

is provided by the

Victoria Regional Transit System Victoria Regional Transit System provides public transportation in the Greater Victoria region of British Columbia, Canada. Its operations are governed by the Victoria Regional Transit Commission in association with BC Transit. There were more ...

. North Saanich has seven marinas, many of which can accommodate temporary visitors. The highest concentration of marinas (five of the seven) is on the southern coast, between Curteis Point (near the ferry terminal) and McDonald Park Road, near Parkland Secondary School.

Neighbourhoods

* Ardmore: population approximately 1,050; the entire neighbourhood is mostly evenly dense. Ardmore contains a cemetery and the nine hole Ardmore Golf Course. It borders the

to the north and

Pauquachin First Nation The Pauquachin First Nation is the band government of the Pauquachin group of North Straits Salish-speaking indigenous peoples. Their reserve communities and traditional territories are located in the Greater Victoria area of Vancouver Island, Br ...

to the south. * Cloake and Horth Hills: population approximately 1,200; the densest area is uphill on Cloake Hill. Horth Hill Regional Park, managed by the Capital Regional District (CRD) is located near the centre. The park offers a viewpoint, the second highest in North Saanich after

Mount Newton The Prince Charles Mountains are a major group of mountains in Mac. Robertson Land in Antarctica, including the Athos Range, the Porthos Range, and the Aramis Range. The highest peak is Mount Menzies, with a height of . Other prominent peaks ar ...

. There are no commercial establishments in all of this neighbourhood, it is purely residential and forested, like much of the municipality. The north shore, at the very end of the

, offers several beach accesses with views of the Satellite Channel, Mount Tuam on

Salt Spring Island Salt Spring Island or Saltspring Island is one of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia between mainland British Columbia, Canada, and Vancouver Island. The island was initially inhabited by various Salishan peoples before being settled by ...

and other surrounding islands. * Dean Park: population approximately 3,200; it is the most populous and dense neighbourhood in the municipality. It is mostly located on the sloped eastern flank of Mount Newton, directly below John Dean Provincial Park. Below the hill with a high concentration of streets is where Kelset Elementary, the Panorama Recreation Centre and the McTavish Junction (containing commercial space) are located. Dean Park borders

Central Saanich Central Saanich is a district municipality in Greater Victoria, British Columbia, Canada , and a member municipality of the Capital Regional District. It is located on the Saanich Peninsula, in the far south-east of Vancouver Island. The distri ...

. * Deep Cove: population approximately 2,000 with the Coal Point and marina area being the most densely populated area. Along West Saanich Road between Clayton and Wain roads is where "downtown" is located. This area contains a firehall, gas station, the Deep Cove Market, a church and Deep Cove Elementary School. * Central North Saanich: the population of this area is not well defined. The area is often regarded as having several neighbourhoods within and is little known as a whole, associated neighbourhoods include Pat Bay, Sandown,

and the Eagle Ridge Estates. Central North Saanich contains the airport, the Dunsmuir Lodge, the

and the former Sandown Harness Racetrack. This neighbourhood is the largest in terms of area, and the least in terms of density and perhaps population. The two

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

reserves, industrial area, Municipal Hall of North Saanich, rock quarry, free ride park,

gun club The Gun Club were an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, United States, which existed from 1979 to 1996. It was formed and led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Jeffrey Lee Pierce. History Early days (1979–1980) The Gun Club ...

and most agricultural land can also be found here. * McDonald Park/Curteis Point: population approximately 900; it is the least populous and smallest neighbourhood. Although small, it is the most industrious for its size. Dubbed "North Saanich's Marine Neighbourhood", McDonald Park/Curteis Point consists of five marinas around a small cove and inlet, which includes repair and boat yards. BC Ferries' Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal is on the north edge. McDonald Campground part of the

Gulf Islands National Park Reserve Gulf Islands National Park Reserve is a national park located on and around the Gulf Islands in British Columbia, Canada. In the National Parks System Plan, this park provides representation of the Strait of Georgia Lowlands natural region, the ...

occupies much of the southeast along with Blue Heron Park, which includes a soccer field. Parkland Secondary School, North Saanich Middle School and a small suburban-like sliver of the district surrounded by Sidney can be found at the southernmost extent. *Southeast Quadrant ("Bazan Bay"): Population approximately 1,200; it is a small neighbourhood, the second most developed after Dean Park. Sidney borders discreetly to the north and

to the south. highway 17 splits down this neighbourhood. The northern third is more rural, and the southern two thirds are sloped with many houses. The houses and beaches have a superb view of the

Gulf A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodies ...

and San Juan islands as well as downtown Sidney and, at night, possibly a glimpse of

Metro Vancouver Regional District The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), or simply Metro Vancouver, is a Canadian political subdivision and corporate entity representing the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver, designated by provincial legislation as one of the 28 ...

. The

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...

operates a plant health research centre here for the Food Inspection Agency. North Saanich also surrounds two First Nations reserves, namely the

Tseycum First Nation The Tseycum First Nation is a First Nations in Canada, First Nations government located on Vancouver Island. In the 1850s they were signatories to the Douglas Treaties. Chief and Councillors Demographics The Tseycum First Nation has 166 members. ...

, located on the northeastern shore of Patricia Bay, and the

, located on the southeastern shore of Coles Bay south of Ardmore. These First Nations are not, strictly speaking, part of North Saanich.

Attractions

* North Saanich Farm Market *

British Columbia Aviation Museum The British Columbia Aviation Museum is located in Sidney, British Columbia, Canada. It is on the grounds of the Victoria International Airport Victoria International Airport serves Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It is north northwest o ...

* North Saanich Freeride Park *

443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron 443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron (french: links=no, 443e Escadron d'hélicoptères maritimes) is a Canadian Armed Forces helicopter squadron under the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. It was origina ...

(Canadian Forces) *

Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal * Panorama Recreation CentrePanorama Recreation
/ref>

Notable people

* Muriel Wylie Blanchet,

travel writer The genre of travel literature encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs. One early travel memoirist in Western literature was Pausanias, a Greek geographer of the 2nd century CE. In the early modern per ...

(1891–1961) best known for '' The Curve of Time'', lived on Curteis Point in North Saanich. * Sebastian Cabot, star of the television program ''

Family Affair ''Family Affair'' is an American sitcom starring Brian Keith and Sebastian Cabot that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966, to March 4, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do engineer and bachelor Bill Davis (Keith) as he attempte ...

'', had a summer home in the Deep Cove neighbourhood of North Saanich.

References

External links

* {{authority control District municipalities in British Columbia Populated places in the Capital Regional District Greater Victoria Saanich Peninsula