Sooke

District of Sooke
District municipality
Boats docked at Harrison Point in Sooke
Boats docked at Harrison Point in Sooke
Sooke is located in Vancouver Island
Sooke
Sooke
Where Sooke is located on Vancouver Island
Sooke is located in British Columbia
Sooke
Sooke
Sooke (British Columbia)
Sooke is located in Canada
Sooke
Sooke
Sooke (Canada)
Coordinates: 48°22′34″N 123°44′16″W / 48.37611°N 123.73778°W / 48.37611; -123.73778
CountryCanada
ProvinceBritish Columbia
Regional districtCapital
IncorporatedDecember 7, 1999
Government
 • Governing Body
Sooke Municipal Council
  • Al Beddows
  • Jeff Bateman
  • Megan McMath
  • Kevin Pearson
  • Tony St-Pierre
  • Herb Haldane
 • MayorMaja Tait
 • MPStephanie McLean (Liberal)
 • MLADana Lajeunesse (NDP)
Area
 • Land56.60 km2 (21.85 sq mi)
Elevation
50 m (160 ft)
Population
 (2021)
 • Total15,086
 • Density266.6/km2 (690/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC-8 (PST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (PDT)
Forward sortation area
V9Z
WebsiteDistrict of Sooke website

Sooke is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is located on Vancouver Island region and is in the Capital regional district.

The population of Sooke was 15,086 as reported by the 2021 Canadian census. The mayor of Sooke is Maja Tait. Sooke is known for both the Sooke Potholes Regional Park and Sooke Potholes Provincial Park, along with Whiffin Spit Park are all popular places for walking, swimming, and fishing.

Before Europeans arrived, T'Sou-ke Nation peoples settled in the area. The name Sooke comes from the SENĆOŦEN word T'Sou-ke, meaning either to "to push" or "to thrust" and also refers to a stickleback fish that is found in the Sooke harbour and river. On June 23, 1790, first European contact was made when Spanish explorer Manuel Quimper arrived in the area while on his exploration of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. In 1849, Captain Walter Colquhoun Grant, bought land for 100 Pounds Sterling and became the first immigrant settler to buy land in what would become the province of British Columbia. Grant built a farm and water-powered sawmill on the east end of the Sooke inlet after finding out that the Hudson's Bay Company had already owned the best land near Fort Victoria.

References

  1. 1 2 "2021 Census Profile for Sooke, British Columbia". Statistics Canada. Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Meet your Mayor and Council". District of Sooke. Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Sooke". Travel British Columbia. Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  4. ↑ "In the SENĆOŦEN language, 'T'Sou-ke' is the name of the Stickleback fish that lives in the estuary of the Sooke River". T'Sou-ke Nation. Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  5. ↑ "The History and the Heartbeat". Sooke Region Museum. Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Sooke History: Grant's mill: a historic water-powered sawmill". Sooke News Mirror. Retrieved February 3, 2026.

Other websites