Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke (British Columbia) 102/338

 Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke (British Columbia)

Today we're on Vancouver Island with Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke!

Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke has existed as a riding since the 2012 redistribution. The population was 120,834 in 2016. The population centers are Saanich (114,148 in 2016, shared with Saanich—Gulf Islands), Esquimalt (17,655 in 2016), and Colwood (16,859 in 2016). The riding was intended to be named Saanich—Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, but was amended in the final stages.

Politically, this seat has gone through some shifts. Held by former premier Dave Barrett until 1993, it was won by Reform MP Keith Martin, who held the seat and won it under Reform, Alliance, and Liberal banners until 2011 when he retired, at which point it was narrowly won by the NDP. This seat is currently held by NDP MP Randall Garrison.

Randall Garrison ran twice in this seat before winning, getting around 31% of the vote in 2006 and 2008, but ultimately losing to Keith Martin. His first three wins were tight, with 2015 and 2019 being just 8 points ahead of David Merner, fifth place finisher in the 2020 Green Party Leadership race and former president of the Liberal Party of Canada's BC wing. In 2019, this seat was 14/42 in BC and 73/338 in Canada by margin.

Rating:

Name: 5.7/10 - All accurate names, that's not the issue. The issue is the length, and I kind of wish they kept the Juan de Fuca part of it.

Shape: 4.8/10 - Controversial take: this shape is gross. It just swoops in the wrong direction and is a bit too long for my liking. Also why didn't they just make Langford part of it and avoid the length?

Individuality: 6.7/10 - Shoutout to the riding for electing different parties in the past twenty years and also being the last Liberal seat on Vancouver Island.

Total: 17.2/30 (57.3%)

Tomorrow we're in Southwestern Ontario with Essex!