Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke

Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke covers the western and southern portions of the Greater Victoria area on southern Vancouver Island, stretching from the District of Sooke and the rural community of Metchosin along the Strait of Juan de Fuca coastline, through the City of Colwood and the Town of View Royal, to the Township of Esquimalt and into western Saanich. The riding also includes parts of eastern Saanich, taking in the North Quadra, Swan Lake, and Cloverdale neighbourhoods. Several First Nations reserves, including T’Sou-ke, Esquimalt, and Songhees, are located within its boundaries. The riding covers approximately 315 square kilometres and has a population of about 128,600, making it one of the most geographically and socioeconomically diverse ridings in the capital region.

Candidates

Stephanie McLean (Liberal) is a lawyer specializing in labour law who practises with a Victoria-area firm. A former Alberta NDP MLA, McLean represented Calgary-Varsity from 2015 to 2019 and served as Minister of Service Alberta and Status of Women in the Notley government, where she introduced non-binary identity documents and implemented protections against predatory lending. She moved to Vancouver Island in 2019 and resides in Colwood with her family.

Grant Cool (Conservative) is an entrepreneur and aerospace engineer who holds a PhD in aerospace engineering from the University of Toronto, where his research focused on spacecraft design. He has worked with Lockheed Martin on hybrid airships and with the Canadian Space Agency on the International Space Station. Cool founded several companies in the marine and aerospace sectors based in Victoria and California. Raised in a fly-in community in northern Ontario, he drew criticism during the campaign for not residing within the riding’s municipal boundaries.

Maja Tait (NDP) is the three-term mayor of Sooke, first elected in 2014. Over her tenure as councillor and mayor, she championed affordable housing initiatives, environmental protection, and improved access to community amenities. She entered the federal race after longtime NDP incumbent Randall Garrison announced his retirement.

Ben Homer-Dixon (Green Party) is a University of Victoria student studying geography with a minor in ocean sciences. At 20 years old, he was one of the youngest candidates in the 2025 election. His family has deep roots in Metchosin, where he has lived since 2019.

About the Riding

Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke is defined by the presence of Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, the Royal Canadian Navy’s Pacific headquarters and one of the largest employers in the Greater Victoria area. The base and its associated shipyard, graving dock, and naval facilities employ thousands of military and civilian personnel and make defence policy a uniquely prominent local issue. The riding also includes several federal government offices, reflecting Victoria’s role as a major hub for the federal public service.

The western portion of the riding has experienced rapid population growth. Colwood, Langford’s neighbour, has seen significant residential development, while Sooke—once a quiet rural community—has grown steadily as Greater Victoria’s housing costs push families further from the urban core. This growth has strained transportation infrastructure, particularly along the congested Highway 14 corridor connecting Sooke to Victoria.

In 2025, housing affordability was the overriding concern across the riding. Greater Victoria’s median home prices remained among the highest in Canada, and rental vacancy rates hovered near historic lows. Defence and military readiness became an unusually prominent campaign theme amid heightened geopolitical tensions and questions about Canada’s Arctic sovereignty. Health-care access, particularly walk-in clinic closures and physician shortages, affected communities across the riding. The retirement of Garrison, who had held the seat for the NDP since 2011, opened up one of the most competitive races on Vancouver Island.