Victoria

The Victoria federal riding encompasses the entirety of the City of Victoria — British Columbia's capital — along with the District of Oak Bay and the southeastern portion of the District of Saanich, including the University of Victoria campus. The riding covers approximately 40 square kilometres at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, bounded by the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the south and the Salish Sea to the east. With a population of approximately 123,000, it is a compact, densely populated urban riding whose character is shaped by government, education, and a deeply rooted progressive political culture.

Candidates

Laurel Collins (NDP) Born in Kispiox in northern BC, Collins grew up moving frequently across the province as the daughter of two school teachers. She taught courses in social inequality, political sociology, and gender studies at the University of Victoria from 2014 to 2019 and co-published a book on women, adult education, and leadership in Canada in 2015. Elected to Victoria City Council in 2018 with the Together Victoria slate, she resigned her council seat after winning the federal riding in 2019. She served as the NDP critic for Environment and Climate Change.

Nikki Macdonald (Liberal) A former senior advisor to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, Macdonald holds a PhD from the University of Victoria focused on environmental and ocean governance. She has worked with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and key environmental NGOs. Her father, Don Macdonald, served as a federal MP and cabinet minister. She also served as an adjunct professor in UVic's School of Public Administration.

Hannah Hodson (Conservative) A graduate of the University of Victoria's political science program, Hodson spent seven years as a communications coordinator in the BC provincial government under Premier Christy Clark, working with several cabinet ministers. She later moved to Ottawa to work for a Conservative opposition MP. Hodson was the Conservative Party's first openly transgender candidate, campaigning on LGBTQ+ rights, environmental protection, and housing affordability.

Nick Loughton (Green Party) The Green Party candidate for Victoria, Loughton represented the party's platform of climate action, democratic reform, and community sustainability in a riding with a strong tradition of Green support.

About the Riding

Victoria's economy is anchored by the provincial government — the legislative precinct and surrounding government offices are the city's largest employer — and by two post-secondary institutions: the University of Victoria (approximately 22,000 students) and Royal Roads University. The federal government also maintains a significant presence through the Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, located just outside the riding's western boundary, and various federal departments. This concentration of public-sector employment gives the riding a distinctive political character: it has been an NDP stronghold since 2006, and progressive parties have dominated at both the federal and provincial levels for decades.

The riding's residential neighbourhoods range from the heritage homes and English-garden character of Oak Bay — sometimes called the "tweed curtain" for its traditionally conservative sensibility — to the dense, walkable streets of Fernwood, James Bay, and the downtown core. The Inner Harbour, framed by the Parliament Buildings and the Fairmont Empress Hotel, is the symbolic heart of both the city and the province. Victoria's mild, Mediterranean-like climate — the warmest in Canada — supports a year-round outdoor culture and has long attracted retirees, though the city has trended younger in recent decades as its technology sector has grown.

Housing affordability was the dominant local issue heading into the 2021 campaign. Victoria's rental vacancy rate had hovered near 1% for years, and average rents had risen sharply, placing particular pressure on students, seniors on fixed incomes, and service-sector workers. Homelessness and the opioid crisis — British Columbia recorded over 2,200 illicit drug toxicity deaths in 2021 — were closely linked concerns, with encampments in Beacon Hill Park and along the Gorge waterway drawing public attention and debate. Climate policy, Indigenous reconciliation, and ocean governance were also prominent themes in a riding whose voters consistently rank environmental issues among their top priorities.