| Sooke | |
| Official Name: | District of Sooke[1] |
| Settlement Type: | District municipality |
| Pushpin Map: | Vancouver Island#Canada British Columbia |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Sooke within British Columbia |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Canada |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | British Columbia |
| Subdivision Type2: | Regional district |
| Subdivision Name2: | Capital |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Maja Tait |
| Leader Title1: | Councillors |
| Leader Name1: | Jeff Bateman, Al Beddows, Dana Lajeunesse, Megan McMath, Kevin Pearson, Tony St-Pierre. |
| Established Title: | Incorporated |
| Established Date: | December 7, 1999 |
| Area Land Km2: | 56.60 |
| Population As Of: | 2021 |
| Population Total: | 15,086 |
| Population Density Km2: | 266.6 |
| Timezone: | PST |
| Utc Offset: | −8 |
| Timezone Dst: | PDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | −7 |
| Coordinates: | 48.3761°N -123.7378°W |
| Elevation M: | 50 |
| Postal Code Type: | Forward sortation area |
| Postal Code: | V9Z |
| Blank Name: | Highways |
| Blank Info: | 14 |
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. It is a regional centre for residents in neighbouring communities, including Otter Point, Shirley and Jordan River.
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.[2]
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.
| 2021 | 2016[3] | 2011[4] | 2006[5] | 2001[6] | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| European | 13,135 | 11,565 | 10,380 | 8,850 | 8,170 | ||||||||||
| Indigenous | 1,065 | 865 | 655 | 390 | 315 | ||||||||||
| East Asian | 215 | 190 | 75 | 120 | 85 | ||||||||||
| Southeast Asian | 190 | 100 | 55 | 50 | 50 | ||||||||||
| Latin American | 90 | 20 | 40 | 20 | 40 | ||||||||||
| South Asian | 85 | 65 | 70 | 120 | 15 | ||||||||||
| African | 85 | 35 | 80 | 80 | 30 | ||||||||||
| Middle Eastern | 25 | 10 | 0 | 20 | 10 | ||||||||||
| Other/Multiracial | 75 | 45 | 0 | 45 | 10 | ||||||||||
| Total responses | 14,975 | 12,895 | 11,355 | 9,690 | 8,715 | ||||||||||
| Total population | 15,086 | 13,001 | 11,435 | 9,704 | 8,735 | ||||||||||
According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Sooke included:
4,755 persons
70 persons
504 persons
10 persons
50 persons
20 persons
10 persons
10 persons
The District of Sooke was incorporated as a municipality on December 7, 1999. It is one of 13 municipalities within the Capital Regional District and is located in the traditional territories of the T'Sou-ke and Scia'new First Nations.
Sooke is governed by a mayor and six councillors, who are elected every four years. The current council was elected on October 15, 2022.[7]
Dana Lajeunesse, who had served on council since 2019, was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2024 British Columbia general election. His successor on council has not yet been determined.
Federally the District is in the riding of Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke, represented by Randall Garrison of the New Democratic Party. He was first elected in 2011.
| Liberal | Conservative | New Democratic | Green | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 17% | 1,256 | 26% | 1,919 | 42% | 3,124 | 7% | 542 | |||||
| 2019 | 15% | 1,089 | 24% | 1,728 | 37% | 2,691 | 21% | 1,530 | |||||
Sooke was part of the riding of Langford-Juan de Fuca, represented by the BC NDP's Ravi Parmar. He succeeded John Horgan, the former Premier of British Columbia (2017–2022) who first won the seat in 2009 and retired from politics for health reasons in 2023.
In April 2023, the BC Electoral Boundaries Commission created the new riding of Juan de Fuca-Malahat. It encompasses 44,980 people in Sooke, Port Renfrew, Jordan River, Otter Point, East Sooke, Metchosin, Malahat, Mill Bay and Shawnigan Lake. Its first elected representative, Dana Lajeunesse, won election in 2024.
| New Democratic | Liberal | Green | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 70% | 3,282 | 13% | 623 | 17% | 789 | ||||
| 2017 | 54% | 2,745 | 25% | 1,263 | 18% | 931 | ||||
Well-known destinations in Sooke include Whiffin Spit Park, the Sooke Potholes Regional Park and adjacent Sooke Potholes Provincial Park.
Sooke is home to the Sooke Region Museum.
The area is the 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 Juan de Fuca Marine Trail. Beaches near Sooke include Sandcut, French Beach, Fishboat Bay, China Beach, and Mystic Beach.
The Galloping Goose Regional Trail, part of the Trans-Canada Trail, runs through Sooke as far as Leechtown, the former site of a gold-rush town circa 1865. Once a rail line, the Goose is now a popular pedestrian and cycling route connecting Sooke to Victoria.
The Sooke Fall Fair was first held in 1913 and continues on Labour Day weekends annually at the Sooke Community Hall.
In April 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).[9] By June 2022, that number (directly from VREB) increased to $938,000.[10] The average home value as of July 1, 2022 as determined by BC Assessment was $831,000.
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 had purchased land to build the future Sunriver 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. The non-profit Sooke Region Lifelong Learning offers a diverse set of educational programs and workshops both virtually and at the Sooke library.