Saanich, British Columbia
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Saanich ( ) is a district municipality on the southern end 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 ...
in
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, within the Greater Victoria area. The population was 117,735 at the 2021 census, making it the most populous municipality in the Capital Regional District and
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 ...
, and the eighth-most populous in the province. With an area of , Saanich is also the largest municipality in Greater Victoria. The district adopted its name after the Saanich First Nation, meaning "emerging land" or "emerging people". Saanich contains a mix of urban, suburban, and rural areas stretching north to the Saanich Peninsula with a wide variety of features including ocean coastlines, freshwater lakes, small rivers, small mountains, rainforests, and agriculture ranging from hay to vineyards. The municipality's topography is undulating with many glacially scoured rock outcroppings. Elevations range from sea level to . There are of freshwater lakes and of marine shoreline. Saanich is also home to the northeastern half of the
University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...
(with the neighbouring district municipality of Oak Bay home to the southwestern half), both campuses of Camosun College, and the Vancouver Island Technology Park.


History

Saanich has been the home to
First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...
people for thousands of years. Saanich is on the territory of the Lək̓ʷəŋən peoples known today as Songhees & Esquimalt Nations, the Malahat Nation and the Saanich Peoples. These Indigenous peoples have connections to the land and those traditions are carried on to this day. Non-Indigenous history begins with the arrival of the
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...
in the 1840s. The Craigflower Schoolhouse (originally called Maple Point School), the oldest surviving school building in Western Canada, was built on orders from Kenneth MacKenzie. He came from
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
with his family in 1852, on the Hudson's Bay Company ship, ''Norman Morison'', to establish a farm for the Puget Sound Agricultural Company, a subsidiary of the Hudson's Bay Company. A school was needed for the children of farm employees, as well as those of arriving settlers. The Municipality of Saanich was incorporated on March 1, 1906. The
Dominion Astrophysical Observatory The Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, located on Observatory Hill (Saanich), Observatory Hill, in Saanich, British Columbia, was completed in 1918 by the Canadian Government, Canadian government. The Dominion architect responsible for the bui ...
telescope was designed by John Stanley Plaskett, an astronomer with the Department of the Interior in
Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
. The reflecting telescope was the largest of its kind in the world when it was built, though this was only the case for a few short months in 1918. The District of Saanich contains a long shoreline with sandy beaches located at several ocean bays. Two of the beaches are Cadboro Bay Beach and Cordova Bay Beach. Cadboro Bay is known as the home of the " Cadborosaurus", a mythical cryptid. Saanich's notable parks include PKOLS (Mount Douglas Park), Mount Tolmie Park (with viewpoints), and Cadboro-Gyro Park.


Geography


Neighbourhoods

Saanich is divided into twelve local areas for planning purposes. In addition, there are a number of community associations in the municipality that represent neighbourhoods largely overlapping with the local areas. The Local Areas, and representative community associations, are listed below: * Blenkinsop. A primarily rural community in a valley situated west of Mount Douglas. Represented by the Blenkinsop Valley Community Association. * Cadboro Bay. A small village located at the eastern edge of Saanich, bordering on Oak Bay near the
University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...
. The community also includes the upscale waterfront neighbourhood of Ten Mile Point. Represented by the Cadboro Bay Residents' Association. * Carey. A suburban community located in western Saanich. Represented by the Residents Association of Strawberry Vale, Marigold and Glanford in the north, and the Mount View Colquitz Community Association in the south. * Broadmead. Originally developed from Broadmead Farms, it was designed as an architecturally controlled area. The focus of the development was to incorporate homes into the landscape. Large trees could not be cut down to accommodate the homes. Most of the area is considered to be in an urban forest. It is situated near Highway 17 and ends a few blocks west of Cordova Bay Road. The community is represented by the Broadmead Area Residents' Association, BARA. * Cordova Bay. A seaside community in northern Saanich. Represented by the Cordova Bay Association for Community Affairs. * Gordon Head. A large suburban community to the north of the
University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...
. Represented by the Gordon Head Residents' Association. * North Quadra. A suburban community in the centre of the municipality. Represented by the North Quadra Community Association. * Quadra. A large urban and suburban community surrounding the urban core of Saanich. Contains the Cedar Hill Golf Course and is represented by the Quadra Cedar Hill Community Association. * Royal Oak. A suburban community at the rural edge of Saanich. Represented by the Royal Oak Community Association, Falaise Community Association, and the Broadmead Area Residents' Association. * Rural Saanich. The largest Local Area by area, this part of Saanich is sparsely populated and mostly rural. Represented in part by the Prospect Lake and District Community Association. * Saanich Core. The urban centre of the District of Saanich. Contains Uptown and the municipal hall. Represented by part of the Mount View Community Association and part of the Quadra Cedar Hill Community Association. * Shelbourne. An urban and suburban community stretching between the City of Victoria and the
University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...
. Represented by the Mount Tolmie Community Association and Camosun Community Association. * Tillicum. An urban and suburban community along the Gorge in western Saanich. Represented by the Gorge Tillicum Community Association.


Climate


Demographics

In the
2021 Canadian census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, whic ...
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 ...
, Saanich had a population of 117,735 living in 48,048 of its 50,064 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 114,148. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.


Ethnicity

*Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses.


Religion

According to the 2021 census, religious groups in 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, ...
(66,460 persons or 57.5%) *
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 ...
(38,645 persons or 33.5%) *
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 ...
(3,250 persons or 2.8%) *
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 ...
(1,855 persons or 1.6%) *
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 ...
(1,520 persons or 1.3%) *
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 ...
(1,370 persons or 1.2%) *
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 ...
(760 persons or 0.7%) * Indigenous spirituality (100 persons or 0.1%)


Government

The Saanich District Council is the governing body of the municipality of Saanich. The council consists of the Mayor and eight councillors. *Mayor: Dean Murdock *Councillors: Colin Plant, Susan Brice, Zac de Vries, Judy Brownoff, Mena Westhaver, Nathalie Chambers, Karen Harper, & Teale Phelps Bondaroff


Education

The northeastern half of British Columbia's third-largest university, the
University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...
campus, is in Saanich, while the southwestern portion is in neighbouring Oak Bay. Saanich is also home to both major campuses of Camosun College, the original Lansdowne campus, and the Interurban campus. Saanich is divided between two bordering school districts, School District 61 Greater Victoria and School District 63 Saanich. It is also the home of South Island Distance Education School.


See also

* Elk/Beaver Lake Regional Park * Murder of Reena Virk * Murder of Lindsay Buziak


Notes


References


External links

* {{Authority control Saanich Peninsula District municipalities in British Columbia Greater Victoria