Victoria

Victoria was a federal electoral district encompassing the City of Victoria, the municipality of Oak Bay, and the southeastern portion of Saanich in British Columbia. As the provincial capital, the riding was home to the British Columbia Legislature, a concentration of federal and provincial government offices, and the historic Inner Harbour waterfront. The riding combined the compact urbanism of downtown Victoria's heritage buildings and narrow streets with the leafy residential character of Oak Bay and the University of Victoria campus area in Saanich.

Candidates

• Denise Savoie (NDP)* — Savoie was the incumbent, first elected in 2006 as the first woman to represent the Victoria riding, and re-elected in 2008. Born in St. Boniface, Manitoba, in 1943, she was the youngest of nine children in a francophone family whose father worked for Canadian National Railways. She earned a master's degree in French literature from the University of British Columbia and a master's in language education from the University of Grenoble in France. Savoie taught French at Royal Roads Military College and later served as a Victoria city councillor and Capital Regional District director from 1999 to 2005. In Parliament, she served as the NDP's critic for intergovernmental affairs, post-secondary education, and literacy, and was named deputy speaker of the House following the 2011 election.

• Patrick Hunt (Conservative) — Hunt had received the Conservative nomination in the fall of 2009 and ran a determined campaign in the riding, finishing second with approximately 24 percent of the vote.

• Christopher Causton (Liberal) — Causton was the long-serving mayor of Oak Bay, a position he had held since 1996. Born in Cobham, Surrey, England, he studied hospitality at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow and immigrated to Canada in the early 1970s. He built a career in the hospitality industry in Victoria, and during his 15-year tenure as mayor he also served as chair of the Capital Regional District from 2000 to 2002 and chair of CRD Parks. He stepped down from his positions as B.C. Transit Commission chair and CRD Parks chair to run for Parliament.

• Jared Giesbrecht (Green Party) — Giesbrecht had served as the Green Party of Canada's justice critic since 2007 and ran a campaign focused on environmental and social justice issues in the riding.

About the Riding

Victoria in 2011 was a riding whose economy and identity were heavily shaped by its role as the provincial capital. Federal and provincial government administration, along with the Canadian Forces base at CFB Esquimalt just outside the riding boundaries, provided a large and stable employment base. Tourism was another pillar of the economy, with the Inner Harbour, the Royal BC Museum, and the historic Empress Hotel drawing visitors from around the world. The University of Victoria and Camosun College, with over 33,000 students and staff combined, were major contributors to the local economy and gave the riding a youthful, educated demographic profile.

The riding's population was predominantly English-speaking and of European descent, with smaller Chinese, South Asian, and Aboriginal communities. Victoria had a notably high proportion of retirees and government workers, creating a unique political dynamic where public-sector employment issues intersected with concerns about pension security and health care for seniors. The city also had a significant arts community and a growing technology sector, with clusters of small tech companies emerging in the downtown core and near the university.

Key issues in the 2011 campaign included the HST, which was deeply unpopular across British Columbia, federal funding for municipal infrastructure, and environmental protection. Victoria's residents were particularly concerned about the marine environment, given the city's location on the Strait of Juan de Fuca and ongoing debates about sewage treatment and tanker traffic. Affordable housing was an emerging concern in the city's tight rental market, and homelessness was a visible issue in the downtown core. The riding had a strong progressive tradition, and many voters were drawn to the NDP's positions on these issues.

Denise Savoie won a commanding re-election with approximately 49 percent of the vote, her strongest result to date, finishing well ahead of Conservative Patrick Hunt at roughly 24 percent. Liberal Christopher Causton, despite his long municipal career and high local profile, finished third with about 19 percent as the Liberal vote cratered nationally. The Green Party's Jared Giesbrecht captured approximately nine percent. Savoie's victory reflected both the national NDP surge under Jack Layton and Victoria's long-standing progressive character. She would serve as deputy speaker until resigning in August 2012 due to health reasons, triggering a by-election won by Murray Rankin.