Sooke, British Columbia

Sooke is a district municipality on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Canada, by road from Victoria, the capital of British Columbia. Sooke, the westernmost of Greater Victoria's Western Communities, is to the north and west of the Sooke Basin.

Tourism and recreation

Sooke's popularity as a scenic tourist destination has existed for generations. Well-known destinations in Sooke, such a
Whiffin Spit Park
the Sooke Potholes Regional Park and adjacent Sooke Potholes Provincial Park attract visitors both locally and from around the world. Sooke is also home to the Sooke Region Museum and Visitor Centre; where visitors and locals are able to get information on regional attractions and history. The area's popularity has increased as a base for visiting the wilderness parks of Vancouver Island's southwest coast — the West Coast Trail and the Juan de Fuca Provincial Park which includes the now highly popular Juan de Fuca Marine Trail. Sooke, BC is also famous for its beaches just on the outskirts of its neighbouring communities such as Shirley and Jordan River. These beaches includ
Sandcut
French beach, Fishboat bay, China beach, Mystic beach and more.

Mountain biking is growing in popularity in British Columbia, and Sooke is establishing itself as a destination for the sport. Local advocacy groups such as the Sooke Bike Club are working to have areas such as Broom Hill set aside as parkland.

The Galloping Goose Regional Trail, part of the Trans-Canada Trail, runs through Sooke and is a popular cycling route to Victoria.

Arts community

The vibrant arts community of Sooke enjoys the annual Sooke Fine Arts Festival (established in 1987) which brings hundreds of tourists to Sooke each summer by featuring the adjudicated art of local and regional artists. Sooke is known for its wealth of painters, writers, sculptors, potters, fabric artists, jewellery crafters and more. The Sooke Community Arts Council plays a large role in fostering art in the region. The Sooke Harbour House art gallery is a main display opportunity for many local artisans.

Real estate

In April of 2022, an average single-family home in Sooke costs $887,500 based on the home price index, drawing from data from the Victoria Real Estate Board (VREB). By June of 2022, that number (directly from VREB) increased to $938,000.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Sooke had a population of 15,086 living in 6,129 of its 6,431 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 13,001. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Ethnicity

Religion

According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Sooke included:
*Irreligion (9,825 persons or 65.6%)
*Christianity (4,755 persons or 31.8%)
*Judaism (70 persons or 0.5%)
*Buddhism (50 persons or 0.3%)
*Islam (50 persons or 0.3%)
* Indigenous Spirituality (20 persons or 0.1%)
*Hinduism (10 persons or 0.1%)
*Sikhism (10 persons or 0.1%)

Politics

The District of Sooke is its own independent municipality, part of the Capital Regional District.

Municipal

Sooke is governed by a mayor and six councilors, who are elected every four years.

Mayor Maja Tait

Councillor Al Beddows

Councillor Dana Lajeunesse

Councillor Ebony Logins

Councillor Jeff Bateman

Councillor Megan McMath

Councillor Tony St-Pierre

Provincial

Sooke in part of the riding of Langford-Juan de Fuca represented by John Horgan of the BC NDP, who first won in 2009.

Federal

Federally the town is in the riding of Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke, represented by Randall Garrison of the New Democratic Party. He was first elected in 2011.

Climate

Sooke has a Mediterranean climate, with warm summers and mild winters, defined by the Köppen climate classification as ''Csb''. Although its precipitation is more like dry summer climates, its temperatures resemble oceanic climates as found in Ireland, for example.

Education

Sooke is a part of the School District 62 Sooke. There is one high school, Edward Milne Community School, and one junior high school, Journey Middle School. The four elementary schools in the area are John Muir (in the town's west end), Sooke Elementary (town centre), the French immersion Ecole Poirier (town centre), and Saseenos Elementary (east end). In 2018, SD62 announced it would be building Sooke River Elementary in the Sunriver neighbourhood. Continuing adult education programs are offered by the Edward Milne Community School (EMCS) Society, which also operates with day, evening and weekend programs. The closest post-secondary institutions are Royal Roads University and Camosun College's Interurban campus.

Neighbourhoods

(in order from east to west)
* North Sooke
* Saseenos
* Milne's Landing
* Sunriver Estates
* Sooke Town Centre or "Upsooke"
* Broom Hill
* Whiffin Spit
* Otter Point
* Kemp Lake

Neighbouring communities

* Metchosin - East of Sooke
* East Sooke - South of Sooke
* Otter Point - West of Sooke

Publications

* The long-established weekly newspaper is the Sooke News Mirror, edited by Kevin Laird and one of more than 70 Black Press Media community papers in B.C.

Notable residents

* Canadian poet, novelist and playwright Marilyn Bowering lives in the Sooke area.
* Bryce Soderberg, bassist and vocalist for American rock band Lifehouse.
* J. Lee Thompson (1914-2002), British film director ( Cape Fear, The Guns of Navarone), died in Sooke.
* Kevin Wenstob, Canadian logger and subject of the reality TV series '' Big Timber''.

References

External links

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Populated places on the British Columbia Coast
District municipalities in British Columbia
Populated places in the Capital Regional District
Greater Victoria
Juan de Fuca region