North Saanich | |
Official Name: | District of North Saanich[1] |
Settlement Type: | District municipality |
Motto: | "Eetsun-Hunnumut" "The land where it is good to be" |
Pushpin Map: | Vancouver Island#Canada British Columbia#Canada |
Pushpin Label Position: | none |
Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of District of North Saanich within the Capital District in British Columbia, Canada |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Name: | Canada |
Subdivision Type1: | Province |
Subdivision Name1: | British Columbia |
Subdivision Type2: | Regional district |
Subdivision Name2: | Capital |
Subdivision Type3: | Electoral district (federal) |
Subdivision Name3: | Saanich—Gulf Islands |
Subdivision Type4: | Electoral district (provincial) |
Subdivision Name4: | Saanich North and the Islands |
Leader Title: | Governing body |
Leader Name: | North Saanich Municipal Council |
Leader Title1: | Mayor |
Leader Name1: | Peter Jones |
Leader Title2: | MP |
Leader Name2: | Elizabeth May (Green) |
Leader Title3: | MLA |
Leader Name3: | Adam Olsen (BC Green) |
Established Title2: | Incorporated |
Established Date2: | 1965 |
Area Footnotes: | [2] |
Area Total Km2: | 37.27 |
Population As Of: | 2016 |
Population Total: | 11,249 |
Population Density Km2: | 301.8 |
Timezone: | PST |
Utc Offset: | −08:00 |
Utc Offset Dst: | −07:00 |
Coordinates: | 48.6142°N -123.42°W |
Elevation M: | 23 |
Blank Name: | Highways |
Blank Info: | 17 |
Blank1 Name: | Waterways |
Blank1 Info: | |
Website: | North Saanich |
The District of North Saanich is located on the Saanich Peninsula of British Columbia, approximately 25km (16miles) north of Victoria on southern Vancouver Island. It is one of the 13 Greater Victoria municipalities. The district is surrounded on three sides by 20km (10miles) of ocean shoreline, and consists of rural/residential areas and a large agricultural base. It is home to the Victoria International Airport and the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal.
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 Victoria International Airport 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.
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.[3]
2021 | 2016[4] | 2011[5] | 2006[6] | 2001[7] | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
European | 11,060 | 10,395 | 10,300 | 10,125 | 10,020 | ||||||
Indigenous | 340 | 190 | 205 | 125 | 60 | ||||||
South Asian | 275 | 145 | 115 | 60 | 40 | ||||||
East Asian | 260 | 220 | 220 | 280 | 130 | ||||||
Southeast Asian | 135 | 120 | 110 | 15 | 35 | ||||||
African | 45 | 60 | 20 | 75 | 45 | ||||||
Latin American | 35 | 20 | 0 | 35 | 20 | ||||||
Middle Eastern | 10 | 10 | 0 | 55 | 0 | ||||||
Other/Multiracial | 20 | 35 | 0 | 10 | 55 | ||||||
Total responses | 12,190 | 11,195 | 11,020 | 10,775 | 10,410 | ||||||
Total population | 12,235 | 11,249 | 11,089 | 10,823 | 10,436 | ||||||
According to the 2021 census, religious groups in North Saanich included:[8]
The largest animal to be found in North Saanich is the cougar. Other native mammals include the black-tailed deer, mink, otter, raccoon, and deer mouse. Of introduced mammal species, the cottontail rabbit and gray squirrel are often seen. Common native birds include the northwestern crow, common raven, bald eagle, turkey vulture, American robin, varied thrush, Steller's jay, and several species of gull. Introduced birds are represented by the abundant common starling and the now declining Eurasian skylark.
The most common native tree in North Saanich is Douglas fir. The other common large conifers are Abies grandis (grand fir) and Thuja plicata (western red cedar). Tsuga heterophylla (western hemlock) is occasionally found. Taxus brevifolia (Pacific yew) is a frequent understory tree. The Arbutus menziesii (Pacific madrone) is a large broadleaf evergreen species. Large deciduous trees are Populus balsamifera (black cottonwood), Acer macrophyllum (bigleaf maple), Alnus rubra (red alder), and Quercus garryana (Garry oak). Small deciduous species include Prunus emarginata (bitter cherry), Rhamnus purshiana (cascara), Malus fusca (Pacific crabapple), Cornus nuttallii (Pacific dogwood), Populus tremuloides (quaking aspen), Acer glabrum (Douglas maple), Crataegus monogyna (common hawthorn) and Salix lucida (Pacific willow).
North Saanich has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csb) with short, warm, and dry summers and long, cool, and wet winters.
The 2022 – 2026 council is:[9]
The next election is scheduled for October 17, 2026, following provincial law. All municipalities in British Columbia 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.
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.
North Saanich can be accessed by highway on Highway 17 from Victoria, Sidney or Vancouver (through the BC Ferries terminal at Swartz Bay). Victoria International Airport is also located in the municipality, which offers daily service to Calgary, Edmonton, SeaTac, San Francisco, Kelowna, Toronto and hourly service to Vancouver International from Air Canada Express. The airport also offers seasonal services to Mexico and Hawaii, with talk about expansion to Europe or Asia. North Saanich also has a floatplane aerodrome near the Institute of Ocean Sciences in Patricia Bay, the Victoria Airport Water Aerodrome. Formerly the hub for Pat Bay Air, the aerodrome is now served by Harbour Air Seaplanes, Kenmore Air, Ocean Air Floatplanes and Salt Spring Air, which offer scheduled and charter flights.
Public transport is provided by the Victoria Regional Transit System.
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.
North Saanich also surrounds two First Nations reserves, namely the Tseycum First Nation, located on the northeastern shore of Patricia Bay, and the Pauquachin First Nation, located on the southeastern shore of Coles Bay south of Ardmore. These First Nations are not, strictly speaking, part of North Saanich.