Greater Victoria, British Columbia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Greater Victoria (also known as the Greater Victoria Region) is located in British Columbia, Canada, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. It is a cultural rather than political entity, usually defined as the thirteen easternmost municipalities on Vancouver Island of the Capital Regional District (CRD).
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. This is probably reflective of many people's changing views of the whole region being Victoria, not just the central city, and indeed there have been recurrent debates on amalgamating at least some of the municipalities.
Regionalism
United Greater Victorians have achieved great things in the past, such as the 1994 Commonwealth Games. That international sports event superbly showcased the Victoria Region to the world on what can be proudly accomplished. The current regional arena, Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre provides the regional entertainment market with professional hockey, trade shows, music concerts and other entertainment consumer products or services. The ECHL Victoria Salmon Kings hockey team mascot is a cute Marmot named Marty. He can be seen around the arena performing his promotional duties during hockey games. RG Properties Ltd. built the SOFMC Arena, owns the Victoria Salmon Kings team, and operates the arena for the City of Victoria.
Many Victoria Region municipalities have their own fairs: Western Communities' Luxton Rodeo, Oak Bay's Tea Party, Esquimalt's Buccaneer Days, and Central Saanich's Saanich Fair. The Saanich Fair is the oldest and largest of all the Greater Victoria local fair venues; it's a kind of de facto regional fair due to its greater size, content, and famous reputation. The Saanich Fair could be Greater Victoria's version of the Greater Vancouver Fair, the Pacific National Exhibition/PNE, and appears to have the largest number of attendees of all the Victoria area fairs.
Major Canadian City Region
The 15th largest Canadian metropolitan area is sufficiently large enough to offer a wide variety of entertainment and recreational facilities and activities, regardless of personal tastes. The mild coastal climate ensures less extreme weather changes. Outdoor and indoor recreational areas are abundant throughout the region. The Luminara Lantern Festival [1], is a regionally popular cultural/artistic outdoor activity that draws thousands of visitors to Beacon Hill Park. It is administered by the Inter-culteral Association (ICA). The Victoria Tall Ship Festival showcase sailing vessels and the sailing life to locals and visitors alike. [2]
These regional positive qualities, along with new transportation links, international high profile events (2007 NATO meeting, 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, 1994 Commonwealth Games, etc.), could have helped produce a socio-economic effect in terms of: attractiveness as a place of residency, low unemployment, high real estate development potential for profit, increasing immigration of new people(s), and expanding opportunities for business or economic development. High profile international attention performs its duty as a marketing, public relations, and sales catalyst for further activity. Boaters from around the world gather annually in the waters off of Victoria BC/Vancouver Island for the Swiftsure International Yacht Race.[3] There are many other social events and activities, not listed here, to choose from. [4]
Geographical Economics
An example of this economic opportunity also lies in Victoria's geography. The April 19, 2008 Victoria Times Colonist newspaper printed a section, sponsored by the Downtown Victoria Business Association/DVBA, focusing on the area's downtown selection of goods and service providers. As it was in the early days with merchants supplying and outfitting gold rush prospectors, today's modern merchants supply outdoor recreation seekers before they head to other parts of Vancouver Island for surfing, kayaking, hiking, camping, swimming, cycling or whatever activities they seek. Victoria has always been the main port and supply depot of those landing on Vancouver Island. British Navy Captain George Vancouver, Hudson's Bay Company Official James Douglas (governor), and others chose Victoria as their initial landing spot or outpost. The past 150 years bears witness to Victoria's transformation from isolated outpost to major Canadian metropolitan area and provincial capital.
The DVBA newspaper article elaborated on the Victoria area's wish to inaugurate the first United Airlines flights to the San Francisco Bay Area with a regional trade delegation of government officials, corporate officials, and other stakeholders. The first group of California travelers will be officially greeted by local representatives and the same aircraft will then transport the Greater Victoria delegation to the San Francisco Bay Area, for official functions coordinated through the Canadian consulate.
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[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
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Population The Greater Victoria region has a combined population of 330,088, according to the 2006 Canadian census [5]. The region comprises two of the fifteen most populous municipalities in British Columbia (Saanich, at number seven, and Victoria at number thirteen). The Canadian Census ranks Greater Victoria as the 15th largest metropolitan area in Canada, by population. The population of the municipalities and unincorporated districts are as follows:
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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:
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[edit] Neighbourhoods of Greater Victoria
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[edit] Notable places and features of Greater Victoria
[edit] Educational institutions
- Camosun College (Saanich, Oak Bay and Victoria)
- Lester B. Pearson College (Metchosin)
- Royal Roads University (Colwood)
- University of Victoria (Saanich and Oak Bay)
- University Canada West (Victoria)
[edit] Hospitals
- Royal Jubilee Hospital (Victoria and Saanich)
- Saanich Peninsula Hospital (Central Saanich/Saanich Peninsula)
- Victoria General Hospital (View Royal)
[edit] Military installations
(Department of National Defence)
- Bay Street Armory (Victoria)
- CFB Esquimalt Dockyard (Esquimalt)
- CFB Esquimalt Naden (Esquimalt)
- Victoria International Airport Air Force Squadron detachment, (North Saanich)
[edit] Parks and natural features
- Elk/Beaver 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)
- Saxe Point Park/Fleming Beach, former military defence gun bunkers/observation (Esquimalt)
- Hartland landfill, (mountain biking, tours & hiking) (Saanich)
[edit] Scientific facilities
- Dominion Astrophysical Observatory/National Research Council of Canada (Saanich)
- Gonzales Hill Observatory (Oak Bay)
- Institute of Ocean Sciences/Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada (North Saanich)
- Commission géologique du Canada, CGC Pacifique/Department of Natural Resources (Sidney)
[edit] Sites of interest
[edit] Historical
- Craigdarroch Castle (Victoria)
- Craigflower Manor and Craigflower Schoolhouse (Saanich)
- Empress Hotel (Victoria)
- Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse / Parks Canada (Colwood)
- Hatley Park (Colwood)
- Ross Bay Cemetery (Victoria)
- Harling Point Chinese Cemetery (Oak Bay)
- Veteran's Cemetery (Esquimalt)
- Chinatown (Victoria)
- Craigdarroch Castle (Victoria)
- Fleming Beach, historical defence bunkers (Esquimalt)
- Emily Carr House (Victoria)
- Victoria High School (Victoria)
- Camosun College (Saanich)
- Beacon Hill Park (Victoria)
- Government House (Victoria)
- Legislature of British Columbia (Victoria)
- Helmcken House (Victoria)
- Victoria Police Department Station Museum (150 years of policing artifacts) (Victoria)
[edit] Political
- Government House (Victoria)
- Parliament Buildings (Victoria)
- Victoria City Hall (Victoria)
[edit] Cultural
- Chinatown (Victoria)
- Royal British Columbia Museum & IMAX National Geographic Theatre (Victoria)
- Thunderbird Park (Victoria)
- Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (Victoria)
- CFB Esquimalt Military Museum (Esquimalt)
- Maltwood Art Gallery UVic University Centre (Saanich)
[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)
- Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre arena (Victoria)
- Royal Victoria Yacht Club (Oak Bay)
- Saanich Commonwealth Place (swimming pool & library-Greater Victoria Public Library) (Saanich)
- Sandowne Park (horse racing) (North Saanich)
- Victoria Curling Club (Victoria)
- Western Speedway (motor racing) (Langford)
- Bear Mountain Arena (Colwood)
- Royal Athletic Park (Victoria)
- Centennial Stadium (track & field) (Saanich, Uvic)
[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)
- Downtown Victoria, Helijet helicopter service to Downtown Vancouver, (Victoria)
- United Airlines, 2008, start of direct flights to San Francisco Bay Area, (North Saanich)
[edit] Media outlets
[edit] Print
- Victoria Times-Colonist, regional newspaper
- Monday Magazine, entertainment weekly publication
- The Nexus, Camosun College student newspaper
- The Martlet, University of Victoria student newspaper
- News Group/Black Press community newspapers
- LookOut, newspaper of CFB Esquimalt Navy Base
- Victoria Marketplace, monthly business profiles http://marketplacenewsletter.blogspot.com
- Douglas Magazine, Victoria based business magazine
[edit] AM Radio
[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
[edit] Famous Victorians
- Steve Nash
- Nelly Furtado
- Silken Laumann
- David Foster
- Geoff Courtnall
- Russ Courtnall
- Emily Carr
- Roland Green
- Billy Foster
- Cameron Bright
- David Anderson (Canadian politician)
- Len Barrie
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