Sooke

Sooke is a district municipality on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Canada, 38 km 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.

Tourism and recreation
Well-known destinations in Sooke include Whiffin Spit Park, the Sooke Potholes Regional Park and adjacent Sooke Potholes Provincial Park.

Sooke is also 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.

Arts and culture
The Sooke Fall Fair was first held in 1913 and continues on Labour Day weekends annually at the Sooke Community Hall.

Real estate
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). By June 2022, that number (directly from VREB) increased to $938,000. The average home value as of July 1, 2022 as determined by BC Assessment was $831,000.

Demographics
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 NaN% from its 2016 population of 13,001. With a land area of 56.6 km2, it had a population density of in 2021. A full summary of Sooke results from the 2021 Census is available from Statistics Canada.

Religion
According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Sooke included:


 * No religion or secular perspectives (9,825 persons)
 * Christianity (4,755 persons)
 * Judaism (70 persons)
 * Buddhism (504 persons)
 * Islam (10 persons)
 * Muslim (50 persons)
 * Indigenous Spirituality (20 persons)
 * Hinduism (10 persons)
 * Sikhism (10 persons)

Governance
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. Municipal activities and census data are featured in the District of Sooke's Annual Reports. The 2023 edition was released on June 30, 2024.

Municipal
Sooke is governed by a mayor and six councillors, who are elected every four years. The current council was elected on October 15, 2022. Mayor Maja Tait

Councillor Jeff Bateman

Councillor Al Beddows

Councillor Dana Lajeunesse

Councillor Megan McMath

Councillor Kevin Pearson

Councillor Tony St-Pierre

Provincial
Sooke is 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 will be determined in the provincial election of Oct. 19, 2024.

Federal
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.

Climate
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.

Education
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.

Neighbouring communities

 * Metchosin - East of Sooke
 * East Sooke - South of Sooke
 * Otter Point - West of Sooke

Notable residents

 * Canadian poet, novelist and playwright Marilyn Bowering lives in the Sooke area.
 * Bryce Soderberg, bassist and vocalist for American rock band Lifehouse.
 * J. Lee Thompson (1914–2002), British film producer and director (Cape Fear, The Guns of Navarone)
 * Kevin Wenstob, Canadian logger and subject of the reality TV series Big Timber.
 * Darrel J. McLeod, Governor General's Award-winning author, lives in the Sooke area.
 * Kingsley Jones, head coach of the Canadian men's national rugby team