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 229 metres (751ft). There are 8.1749 square kilometres (3.1563sqmi) of freshwater lakes and 29.61 kilometres (18.40mi) of marine shoreline.
Saanich is also home to the northeastern half of the University of Victoria (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
Non-Indigenous history begins with the arrival of the Hudson's Bay Company 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 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 telescope was designed by John Stanley Plaskett, an astronomer with the Department of the Interior in Ottawa. The 180-centimetre (72in) 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.[citation needed]
A citizens' assembly was formed in 2018 to study a merger of Saanich and Victoria; it recommended amalgamation in 2025 and a binding vote was initially scheduled for the following year until it was halted by the provincial government.
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 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 BeachCordova 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. 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.
Uptown Mall, Saanich, British ColumbiaRural 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. 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.
Source 2: weatherstats.ca (for dewpoint and monthly&yearly average absolute maximum&minimum temperature)
Demographics
In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada, Saanich had a population of 117,735 living in 48,048 of its 50,064 total private dwellings, a change of 3.1% from its 2016 population of 114,148. With a land area of 103.59 square kilometres (40.00sqmi), it had a population density of 1,136.5/km2 (2,943.6/sqmi) in 2021.
Historical census populations – Saanich, British Columbia
Year
Pop.
±%
1941
18,173
—
1951
28,481
+56.7%
1956
38,358
+34.7%
1961
48,876
+27.4%
1966
58,845
+20.4%
1971
65,040
+10.5%
Year
Pop.
±%
1976
73,383
+12.8%
1981
78,710
+7.3%
1986
82,940
+5.4%
1991
95,577
+15.2%
1996
101,388
+6.1%
2001
103,654
+2.2%
Year
Pop.
±%
2006
108,265
+4.4%
2011
109,752
+1.4%
2016
114,148
+4.0%
2021
117,735
+3.1%
Population counts are not adjusted for boundary changes. Source: Statistics Canada
Ethnicity
Panethnic groups in the District of Saanich (2001−2021)
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 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.
↑"UVictoria". List of charts for UVictoria. weatherstats.ca. February 6, 2026. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
↑"1971 Census of Canada - Population Census Subdivisions (Historical)". Catalogue 92-702 Vol I, part 1 (Bulletin 1.1-2). Statistics Canada: 76, 139. July 1973.
↑Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (October 27, 2021). "Census Profile, 2016 Census". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
↑Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (November 27, 2015). "NHS Profile". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
↑Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (August 20, 2019). "2006 Community Profiles". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
↑Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (July 2, 2019). "2001 Community Profiles". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
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