Greater Victoria, British Columbia

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Greater Victoria (also known as the Greater Victoria Region) is located in British Columbia, Canada, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. It is not a political entity but rather a group of thirteen different municipalities of the Capital Regional District (CRD). The only portions of the CRD not included in the designation are the Gulf Islands and those portions of the Juan de Fuca Electoral Area west of Sooke.

Many places, buildings, and institutions associated with Victoria (the University of Victoria, Victoria International Airport, or the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal, for example), actually exist outside the City of Victoria. The confusion is enhanced by the fact that Victoria is the locality indicated in the mailing addresses of places in several CRD municipalities and localities outside Victoria.

Contents 1 Municipalities in Greater Victoria 2 Demographics 3 Neighbourhoods of Greater Victoria 4 Notable places and features of Greater Victoria 4.1 Educational institutions 4.2 Hospitals 4.3 Military installations 4.4 Parks and natural features 4.5 Scientific facilities 4.6 Sites of interest 4.6.1 Historical 4.6.2 Political 4.6.3 Cultural 4.6.4 Other 4.7 Sports facilities 4.8 Transportation and ports 5 Media outlets 5.1 Print 5.2 AM Radio 5.3 FM Radio 5.4 Television 6 Famous Victorians

[edit] Municipalities in Greater Victoria

These are broken down into:

• The "core" municipalities: The City of Victoria and the District Municipalities of Saanich, Esquimalt, and Oak Bay, which are immediately adjacent to it;
• The Western Communities: The Cities of Colwood and Langford, The Town of View Royal, and the District Municipalities of Highlands, Metchosin, and Sooke, which lie generally west of Esquimalt Harbour and Portage Inlet; and
• The Saanich Peninsula: The District Municipalities of Central Saanich, North Saanich, and the Town of Sidney, which lie to the north of Victoria.

This breakdown is roughly mirrored by the three school districts in Greater Victoria.

• Greater Victoria School District #61 - (the core municipalities)
• Sooke School District #62 - (the Western Communities)
• Saanich School District #63 - (the Saanich Peninsula)

Greater Victoria is the southernmost urban area in western Canada, as it is located below the 49th parallel.

[edit] Demographics

Population The Greater Victoria region has a combined population of almost 312,000, according to the 2001 Canadian census [1]. The region comprises two of the fifteen most populous municipalities in British Columbia (Saanich, at number seven, and Victoria at number thirteen). The population of the municipalities and unincorporated districts are as follows: Saanich 103,654 Victoria 74,125 Langford 18,840 Oak Bay 17,798 Esquimalt 16,127 Central Saanich 15,348 Colwood 13,745 Sidney 10,949 North Saanich 10,436 Sooke 8,735 View Royal 7,271 Metchosin 4,857 First Nations Reserves 4,667 Juan de Fuca Electoral Area of the CRD 3,962 Highlands 1,674

Largest Ethnic groups In comparison to the Lower Mainland (Vancouver and environs), the region does not enjoy a great deal of ethnic diversity. Most of the population remains of European descent. A substantial community of those of Chinese descent has existed in Greater Victoria since the latter nineteenth century, the first significant influx coming with the building of the transcontinental railway in the 1880s. There is also a substantial First Nations (indigenous) population whose ancestors have lived in the area for thousands of years. Numerous First Nations reserves, forming distinct communities, exist in the region — primarily on the Saanich Peninsula, in Esquimalt, and in the Western Communities — although the majority of the First Nations population live off-reserve. The largest ethnic groups in Greater Victoria, according to the 2001 census, are: English - 131,670 Canadian - 90,780 (those mostly of British/French origin whose ancestors have lived in Canada for many generations) Scottish - 79,275 Irish - 56,655 German - 34,345 French - 29,440 Dutch - 13,805 Ukrainian - 12,770 Chinese - 11,720 Aboriginal - 10,230

[edit] Neighbourhoods of Greater Victoria

Victoria Chinatown Cook Street Village Downtown East Burnside-Gorge Fairfield Fernwood Harris Green Hillside-Quadra Humboldt Valley James Bay Jubilee North Park Rock Bay Rockland Victoria West

Saanich Beaver Lake Broadmead Cadboro Bay Cedar Hill Cordova Bay Elk Lake Glanford Gordon Head The Gorge Interurban Lake Hill Marigold Mayfair Mt. Douglas Mt. Tolmie Prospect Lake Royal Oak Strawberry Vale Ten Mile Point Tillicum West Burnside West Saanich

Oak Bay Gonzales Uplands Willows Beach Windsor Park South Oak Bay Esquimalt Craigflower Gorge Vale Rockheights Songhees Work Point View Royal Shoreline Colwood Belmont Park Colwood Corners Hatley Park Mill Hill Royal Roads

Langford Florence Lake Glen Lake Goldstream Luxton Millstream Ravenwood Highlands Durrance Lake Thetis Lake Willis Point Metchosin Happy Valley Matheson Lake Rocky Point William Head Central Saanich Brentwood Bay Island View Saanichton

North Saanich Cloake Hill Dean Park Deep Cove Lands End Patricia Bay ("Pat Bay") Swartz Bay Sidney Sooke Broom Hill East Sooke Otter Point Kemp Lake Saseenos Whiffen Spit

[edit] Notable places and features of Greater Victoria

[edit] Educational institutions

• Camosun College (Saanich)
• Lester B. Pearson College (Metchosin)
• Royal Roads University (Colwood)
• University of Victoria (Saanich and Oak Bay)

[edit] Hospitals

• Royal Jubilee Hospital (Victoria and Saanich)
• Sannich Peninsula Hospital (Central Saanich/Saanich Peninsula)
• Victoria General Hospital (Saanich)

[edit] Military installations

• Bay Street Armory (Victoria)
• CFB Esquimalt Dockyard (Esquimalt)
• CFB Esquimalt Naden (Esquimalt)

[edit] Parks and natural features

• Beaver Lake/Elk Lake Regional Park (Saanich)
• East Sooke Regional Park (Juan de Fuca EA)
• Goldstream Provincial Park (Langford)
• Beacon Hill Park (Victoria)
• Francis/King Regional Park (Saanich)
• Galloping Goose Regional Trail (from Victoria west through Sooke)
• John Dean Provincial Park (North Saanich and Central Saanich)
• Gowlland Tod Provincial Park (Highlands, and Juan de Fuca EA)
• Mount Douglas Park (Saanich)
• Mount Work Regional Park (Saanich, Highlands, and Juan de Fuca EA)
• Sooke Potholes Regional Park, Sooke Potholes Provincial Park and Sooke River Provincial Park (Sooke)
• Swan Lake/Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary (Saanich)
• Thetis Lake Regional Park (View Royal, Langford, and Highlands)
• Uplands Park (Oak Bay)

[edit] Scientific facilities

• Dominion Astrophysical Observatory (Saanich)
• Gonzales Hill Observatory (Oak Bay)
• Institute of Ocean Sciences (North Saanich)

[edit] Sites of interest

[edit] Historical

• Craigdarroch Castle (Victoria)
• Craigflower Manor and Craigflower School (View Royal)
• Empress Hotel (Victoria)
• Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse (Colwood)
• Hatley Park (Colwood)
• Ross Bay Cemetery (Victoria)

[edit] Political

• Government House (Victoria)
• Parliament Buildings (Victoria)
• Victoria City Hall (Victoria)

[edit] Cultural

• Chinatown (Victoria)
• Royal British Columbia Museum (Victoria)
• Thunderbird Park (Victoria)

[edit] Other

• Butchart Gardens (Central Saanich)

[edit] Sports facilities

Golf (18 holes)

• Bear Mountain Golf and Country Club (Langford)
• Cedar Hill Golf Course (Saanich)
• Gorge Vale Golf Club (Esquimalt)
• Olympic View Golf Club (Langford and Colwood)
• Royal Colwood Golf and Country Club (Colwood)
• Royal Oak Golf Club (Saanich)
• Uplands Golf Club (Oak Bay)
• Victoria Golf Club (Oak Bay)

Other

• Crystal Pool (Victoria)
• George Pearkes Recreation Centre (Saanich)
• Juan de Fuca Recreation Centre (Colwood)
• Memorial Arena (Victoria)
• Royal Victoria Yacht Club (Oak Bay)
• Saanich Commonwealth Pool (Saanich)
• Sandowne Park (horse racing) (North Saanich)
• Victoria Curling Club (Victoria)
• Western Speedway (motor racing) (Langford)

[edit] Transportation and ports

• Black Ball Ferries (to Port Angeles, Washington) (Victoria)
• Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway terminus (Victoria)
• Port of Victoria (Victoria)
• Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal (BC Ferries) (North Saanich)
• Victoria International Airport (North Saanich)
• Washington State Ferries (Sidney)

[edit] Media outlets

[edit] Print

• Victoria Times-Colonist
• Monday Magazine

[edit] AM Radio

• CKMO 900 kHz
• CFAX 1070 kHz

[edit] FM Radio

• CBUX, Espace musique - 88.9
• CBCV, CBC Radio One - 90.5 MHz
• CJZN 91.3 MHz - "The Zone @ 91-3"
• CBU, CBC Radio Two - 92.1 MHz
• CIOC 98.5 MHz - "The Ocean"
• CKKQ 100.3 MHz - "100.3 The Q!"
• CFUV 101.9 MHz - CFUV, University of Victoria
• CHTT 103.1 MHz - "JACK FM"
• CHBE 107.3 MHz - "Kool FM"

[edit] Television

• Channel 6: CHEK (CH)
• Channel 11: SHAW (Shaw TV)
• Channel 53, Cable 12: CIVI (A-Channel)

[edit] Famous Victorians

• Steve Nash
• Nelly Furtado
• Silken Laumann
• David Foster
• Geoff Courtnall
• Russ Courtnall
• Emily Carr
• Roland Green

v • d • e Neighbourhoods in Greater Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria	Chinatown • Cook Street Village • East Burnside-Gorge • Fairfield • Fernwood • Harris Green • Hillside • Humboldt Valley • James Bay • Jubilee • North Park • Rockland • Victoria West
Saanich	Beaver Lake-Elk Lake • Broadmead-Sunnymead • Cadboro Bay • Cedar Hill • Cloverdale • Cordova Bay • Glanford • Gordon Head • Gorge-Tillicum • Interurban • Lake Hill • Maplewood • Marigold • Mount Douglas • Mount Tolmie-Lansdowne • Prospect Lake • Royal Oak • Strawberry Vale • Swan Lake • Ten Mile Point • Town and Country-Burnside • West Saanich
Other areas	Belmont Park • Brentwood Bay • Broom Hill • Cloak Hill • Colwood Corners • Craigflower • Dean Park • Deep Cove • Durrance Lake • East Sooke • Florence Lake • Glen Lake • Goldstream • Gonzales • Gorge Vale • Happy Valley • Hatley Park • Island View • Kemp Lake • Lands End • Luxton • Matheson Lake • Mill Hill • Millstream • Otter Point • Pat Bay • Ravenwood • Rockheights • Rocky Point • Saanichton • Saseenos • Songhees • Swartz Bay • Thetis Lake • Uplands • Whiffen Spit • William Head • Willis Point • Willows Beach • Windsor Park • Work Point