Central Saanich is a district municipality in

Greater Victoria Greater Victoria (also known as the Greater Victoria Region) is located in British Columbia, Canada, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. It is usually defined as the thirteen municipalities of the Capital Regional District (CRD) on V ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, and a member municipality of the

Capital Regional District The Capital Regional District (CRD) is a local government administrative district encompassing the southern tip of Vancouver Island and the southern Gulf Islands in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The CRD is one of several regional d ...

. It is located on the

Saanich Peninsula Saanich Peninsula () 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 exact southern ...

, in the far south-east of

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 ...

. It is the traditional territory of the W̱SÁNEĆ people. The district began as a farming community, and many hobby farms, along working farms and

vineyards A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

, still exist. In recent decades, the area has seen increasing residential, commercial, and industrial development, especially around the neighbourhoods of Brentwood Bay and Saanichton, which are occasionally referred to as separate communities. The area's best-known tourist attractions are the Butchart Gardens, located in the Brentwood Bay area,

Gowlland Tod Provincial Park Gowlland Tod Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. The park protects 1,219 hectares (3,012 acres) of mixed forest of Douglas-fir, Arbutus, western redcedar, western hemlock, shore pine, grand fir, red alder, and Ga ...

, and Island View Beach. The mayor of Central Saanich is former district councillor Ryan Windsor. Municipal councillors last elected in 2022 include Niall Paltiel, Sarah Riddell, Zeb King, Bob Thompson, Gord Newton, and Christopher Graham.

Geography

Neighbourhoods of Central Saanich: * Brentwood Bay * Saanichton * Island View * Keating * Tanner Ridge (also Saanich)

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Central Saanich had a population of 17,385 living in 7,105 of its 7,621 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 16,814. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Ethnicity

Religion

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

Irreligion Irreligion is the absence or rejection of religious beliefs or practices. It encompasses a wide range of viewpoints drawn from various philosophical and intellectual perspectives, including atheism, agnosticism, religious skepticism, ...

(10,150 persons or 59.1%) *

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

(6,365 persons or 37.1%) *

Sikhism Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...

(270 persons or 1.6%) *

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

(110 persons or 0.6%) *

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

(70 persons or 0.4%) *

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

(40 persons or 0.2%) *

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

(15 persons or 0.1%) *Other (150 persons or 0.9%)

Potato ban

The production of

potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

es from Central Saanich, east of the West Saanich Road, was banned in 1982 due to infestation by the golden nematode. Potatoes from this region of Central Saanich are banned from entry into the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Notable people

* Jamie Benn,

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

winger for the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. The Stars compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The Stars ...

of the National Hockey League (NHL). *

Silken Laumann Silken Suzette Laumann, (born November 14, 1964) is a Canadians, Canadian champion rowing (sport), rower. Life and career Laumann was born in Toronto Township, Ontario, Toronto Township, Ontario, now Mississauga. Starting in 1976, Laumann won ...

, Canadian champion rower. *Wife and husband Lorna Crozier and Patrick Lane, both award-winning Canadian poets. * Roy Sydney Baker-Falkner, grew up in Saanich in the 1920s and went on to be one of the top Second World War Naval Aviators from Canada and UK., and one of the few Canadians who took part in the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

Notes

References

External links

* {{authority control Populated places on the British Columbia Coast District municipalities in British Columbia Populated places in the Capital Regional District Greater Victoria Saanich Peninsula 1950 establishments in British Columbia