Capital Regional District, British Columbia
Encyclopedia
- This article is for the regional district government encompassing the agglomeration of municipalities and rural areas around Victoria, British ColumbiaVictoria, British ColumbiaVictoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. For the region itself, see Greater Victoria, British ColumbiaGreater Victoria, British ColumbiaGreater Victoria 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 of the Capital Regional District on Vancouver Island but also includes adjoining areas and...
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The Capital Regional District (CRD) is a local government administrative district encompassing the southern tip of Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
and the southern Gulf Islands
Gulf Islands
The Gulf Islands are the islands in the Strait of Georgia , between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia, Canada....
in the Canadian province of British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. The CRD is one of several regional districts in British Columbia and had an official population of 345,164 as of the Canada 2006 Census
Canada 2006 Census
The Canada 2006 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 16, 2006. The next census following will be the 2011 Census. Canada's total population enumerated by the 2006 census was 31,612,897...
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The CRD encompasses the thirteen municipalities of Greater Victoria and the Juan de Fuca Electoral Area
Juan de Fuca Electoral Area
The Juan de Fuca Electoral Area comprises Electoral District H and Electoral District H of the Capital Regional District of the Canadian Province of British Columbia...
on Vancouver Island, the Salt Spring Electoral Area, and the Southern Gulf Islands Electoral Area. Its headquarters is in the City of Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
, although there are many office and operational facilities throughout the region. The total land area is 2341.11 km² (903.9 sq mi).
The CRD was formed in 1966 as a federation of seven municipalities and five electoral areas to provide coordination of regional issues and local government in rural areas in the Greater Victoria region.
Municipalities
*(Map of member municipalities)- Central SaanichCentral Saanich, British ColumbiaCentral Saanich is a district municipality in Greater Victoria and a member municipality of the Capital Regional District. It is located on the Saanich Peninsula. The district began as a farming community, and many hobby farms, along with a handful of small working farms and vineyards, still exist...
- ColwoodColwood, British ColumbiaColwood is a city located on Vancouver Island to the southwest of Victoria, capital of British Columbia. Colwood was incorporated in 1985 and has a population of approximately 15,000 people. Colwood lies within the boundaries of the Victoria Census Metropolitan area or Capital Regional District,...
- EsquimaltEsquimalt, British ColumbiaThe Township of Esquimalt is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, to the west by Esquimalt Harbour and Royal Roads, to the northwest by the...
- Highlands
- LangfordLangford, British ColumbiaLangford is a city of 22,459 residents on southern Vancouver Island, within the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is considered one of Greater Victoria's Western Communities...
- MetchosinMetchosin, British ColumbiaThe District of Metchosin is a small, coastal community in the metro Greater Victoria region of British Columbia. It is part of the Western Communities and one of the 13 regional municipalities. Many Metchosinites are small farmers . Most are retired or work outside the community...
- North SaanichNorth Saanich, British ColumbiaNorth Saanich is located on the Saanich Peninsula, approximately 25 km north of Victoria, British Columbia on southern Vancouver Island...
- Oak BayOak Bay, British ColumbiaOak Bay is a municipality located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian Province of British Columbia, Canada. A member municipality of the Capital Regional District, it is a community east of and adjacent to the City of Victoria...
- SaanichSaanich, British ColumbiaThe District of Saanich is a municipality on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. It is located north of the provincial capital, Victoria. It has a population of 108,265 people, making it the most populous municipality on Vancouver Island, and the seventh most populous in the province...
- SidneySidney, British ColumbiaSidney is a town located at the northern end of the Saanich Peninsula, on Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is one of the 13 Greater Victoria municipalities. It has a population of approximately 11,300. Sidney is located just east of Victoria International Airport,...
- SookeSooke, British ColumbiaSooke is a district municipality situated on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Canada. About a 45 minute drive from the city of Victoria , Sooke is considered the westernmost of the Greater Victoria region's "Western Communities." It is situated to the north and west of the Sooke...
- VictoriaVictoria, British ColumbiaVictoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
- View RoyalView Royal, British ColumbiaView Royal is a town in Greater Victoria and a member municipality of the Capital Regional District of British Columbia, Canada. View Royal has a population of approximately 8000 residents and was incorporated as a municipality in December 1988....
Electoral Areas
- Salt Spring Island Electoral AreaCapital F, British ColumbiaThe Salt Spring Island Electoral Area of the Capital Regional District of the Canadian Province of British Columbia consists of unincorporated areas in the CRD located on Salt Spring Island...
: (map), Saltspring IslandSaltspring IslandSaltspring Island is one of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia between mainland British Columbia, Canada and Vancouver Island. It is the largest, the most populous, and the most frequently visited of the Gulf Islands...
- Southern Gulf Islands Electoral AreaCapital G, British ColumbiaThe Southern Gulf Islands Electoral Area of the Capital Regional District of the Canadian Province of British Columbia consists of unincorporated districts in the CRD located on Galiano, Saturna, Mayne, and North and South Pender Islands, as well as many smaller islands located in the Gulf of...
: (map), Galiano IslandGaliano IslandGaliano Island is one of the Southern Gulf Islands between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Located on the west side of the Strait of Georgia, it is 27.5 km long, 6 km at its widest point, and 1.6 km across at its narrowest point and is separated...
, North Pender Island, South Pender Island, Saturna IslandSaturna IslandSaturna Island is a mountainous island, about 31 km² in size, in the Southern Gulf Islands chain of British Columbia. It is situated approximately midway between the Lower Mainland of B.C. and Vancouver Island, and is the most easterly of the Gulf Islands. It is surrounded on three sides by...
, Mayne IslandMayne IslandMayne Island is a rustic 21-km² island in the southern Gulf Islands chain of British Columbia. It is situated midway between the Lower Mainland of BC and Vancouver Island, and has a population of around eleven hundred.-History:...
, and numerous smaller islands
- Juan de Fuca Electoral AreaJuan de Fuca Electoral AreaThe Juan de Fuca Electoral Area comprises Electoral District H and Electoral District H of the Capital Regional District of the Canadian Province of British Columbia...
: (map), East SookeEast Sooke, British ColumbiaEast Sooke is an unincorporated community situated south and east of Sooke, British Columbia, Canada. It consists of over 500 houses on the south side of the Sooke Basin. East Sooke borders on East Sooke Regional Park, an area of , with views south to Olympic National Park in the United...
, MalahatMalahat, British ColumbiaMalahat or The Malahat refers to a First Nations people and the unincorporated locality, highway, and passenger train named after them on southern Vancouver Island...
, Otter Point, Port RenfrewPort Renfrew, British ColumbiaPort Renfrew is a community on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, located approximately 2 hours' drive west of Victoria, British Columbia. Port Renfrew is the western terminus of the Juan de Fuca Trail. Tall Tree Music Festival also calls Port Renfrew home, proving to be...
, Shirley, Willis Point, and rural areas inland.
Administrative role
The board of directors are either directly elected officials or are appointed from within the region's elected municipal councils.The CRD's responsibilities include recycling, operating the regional landfill, building and operating sewage treatment plants, a sewer source control program, regional water supply
Timeline of the CRD Water System
The water supply system for Victoria, British Columbia, now operated by the Capital Regional District , served in 2010 over 330,000 people with clean drinking water from a catchment area of 11,025 hectares centered on its main reservoir at Sooke Lake...
, funding for non-profit arts groups, regional planning, funding health facilities, and overseeing thirty regional parks, trails, and regional park reserves encompassing over 100 km². The CRD is the sole shareholder of the Capital Region Housing Corporation, which owns and operates over 1200 rental housing units. In certain areas, the CRD can pass bylaws that are binding on a portion of the georgaphical area or the entire geographical area. These include a "clean air bylaw" smoking ban
Smoking ban
Smoking bans are public policies, including criminal laws and occupational safety and health regulations, which prohibit tobacco smoking in workplaces and/or other public spaces...
in all public places and patios in restaurants/pubs.
The CRD assumes responsibilities ordinarily undertaken by municipalities
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
in unincorporated areas of the CRD. These responsibilities include animal control, building inspection, fire protection, and bylaw enforcement. Some of the region's municipalities avail themselves of some of these services in a contractual arrangement with the CRD.