Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke

Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke stretches along the western edge of Greater Victoria on southern Vancouver Island, taking in the Township of Esquimalt, the cities of Colwood and Langford, the Town of View Royal, the District of Metchosin, and the District of Sooke, as well as western portions of the Municipality of Saanich. The riding combines military families around CFB Esquimalt, suburban households in the West Shore communities, and the semi-rural fishing and forestry community of Sooke on the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Candidates

Randall Garrison (NDP) — The incumbent MP since 2011, Garrison taught criminology, political science, and Pacific Rim studies at Camosun College for over a decade before entering federal politics. Born in Nebraska, he moved to Canada in 1973 and earned a master's degree in political science from UBC. In Parliament, he served as the NDP's defence critic — a role tied to the riding's military presence — and as the party's spokesperson on LGBTQ2+ issues.

David Merner (Green Party) — A lawyer who had served on the National Board of the Liberal Party of Canada, Merner switched to the Green Party following the federal government's purchase of the Trans Mountain pipeline. He held degrees from Harvard and Oxford, where he played hockey for the Oxford Blues, and had previously been the Liberal candidate in the riding in 2015.

Randall Pewarchuk (Conservative) — A long-time Metchosin resident, Pewarchuk was a dentist who had practised in the Langford area for several decades.

Jamie Hammond (Liberal) — A retired Canadian Armed Forces member with twenty-eight years of military service, Hammond had also served as Private Secretary to two Lieutenant Governors of British Columbia and as a senior civil servant focused on innovation and international trade.

Jeremy Gustafson (People's Party), Josh Steffler (Libertarian), and Tyson Strandlund (Communist) also ran, along with independents Louis Lesosky, Fidelia Godron, and Philip Ney.

About the Riding

CFB Esquimalt, the Royal Canadian Navy's Pacific headquarters, is the riding's most prominent employer and economic anchor, employing thousands of military and civilian personnel and supporting a network of defence contractors and ship maintenance facilities. Royal Roads University, a former military college, occupies a campus adjacent to the Hatley Park National Historic Site in Colwood. Rapid population growth in the West Shore communities of Colwood, Langford, and Sooke placed increasing strain on transportation infrastructure, with the Trans-Canada Highway carrying tens of thousands of commuters daily between the western suburbs and downtown Victoria. Transit improvements were a central campaign issue. Housing affordability had become acute across the region, with prices in formerly affordable Sooke rising sharply. The riding's environmental character — forested hillsides, coastal parks, and proximity to the Juan de Fuca Trail and East Sooke Regional Park — remained a source of local pride and a factor in land-use debates.