Our Home

Building homes for the long term

North Saanich is working toward its provincial housing targets, with a goal of 419 net new homes by 2029. Year one fell short of what the province asked for, and a provincial adviser has been appointed to support the District in the years ahead. The 2025 OCP was written to lay the foundation for that work: zoning updates initiated, infrastructure gaps identified, and a plan that makes room for people without remaking the place they are trying to stay in. Council debated and rejected amendments that would have pushed density well beyond what the community asked for. What emerged reflects a commitment to building carefully and genuinely.

The push for housing comes from a broader provincial shift. Over the last two years, BC has moved assertively into land-use and density decisions that municipalities have traditionally made themselves, and North Saanich is one of many communities navigating that tension. The underlying question is real: there are families who have been here for generations, young people who grew up on this peninsula and want to stay, and farm workers, tradespeople, and teachers who serve this community every day and deserve a realistic shot at living in it. Housing here is not an abstract policy question. It is about whether the people who make this place work can afford to remain, and how much of that decision belongs to the community they are part of.