View Royal

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View Royal
Town of View Royal [1]
Portage park Thetis Cove beach. READ INFO IN PANORAMIO-COMMENTS - panoramio.jpg
Portage Park on Thetis Cove
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View Royal
Location of View Royal within the Capital Regional District
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View Royal
Location of View Royal within British Columbia
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View Royal
View Royal (British Columbia)
Coordinates: 48°27′19″N123°26′19″W / 48.455164°N 123.438705°W / 48.455164; -123.438705
CountryCanada
Province British Columbia
Regional district Capital
Incorporated1988
Government
  TypeMunicipal
  Governing bodyView Royal Town Council
  MayorSid Tobias
Area
[2]
  Land14.33 km2 (5.53 sq mi)
Elevation
20 m (70 ft)
Population
 (2021) [2]
  Total11,575
  Density807.6/km2 (2,092/sq mi)
Time zone UTC-8 (PST)
  Summer (DST) UTC-7 (PDT)
Postal code
V9B
Area code 250
Highways BC-1 (TCH).svg Highway 1 (TCH)
Website www.viewroyal.ca OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

View Royal is a town in Greater Victoria and a member municipality of the Capital Regional District of British Columbia, Canada. View Royal has a population of 11,575 [3] residents. With over 700 hectares (1,700 acres) of parkland, View Royal includes Thetis, McKenzie, Pike, and Prior Lakes and portions of Esquimalt Harbour and Portage Inlet.

Contents

History

View Royal's history is closely linked to the entire region. The Esquimalt First Nation, a Coast Salish indigenous peoples, have occupied View Royal since time immemorial. It began when early inhabitants of today's Esquimalt Harbour crossed an isthmus, now Portage Park, to harvest seafood in Portage Inlet.

European settlement began in the 1850s by Kenneth Mackenzie who established a farm known as Craigflower Manor. [4] In the mid-19th century, Dr. John Helmcken, Vancouver Island's first doctor and later speaker of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly, paid the Hudson's Bay Company $5 per acre for hundreds of acres of land between Esquimalt Harbour and what is now Victoria General Hospital. The land was cleared for Victoria's growth. In 1912, the Island Investment Company bought 80 acres (32 ha) of land below Four Mile Hill, fronting the harbour, from Dr. Helmcken’s son James. They marketed lots as “View Royal” because of their "royal view", which gave the town its name.

View Royal remained unorganized for over half a century. By the 1950s, things had begun to change. In 1959, a group of residents in the Shoreline Drive area circulated a petition urging annexation by Esquimalt. Several studies and referendums came and went, but View Royal continued with its unorganized status. In 1966, the Capital Regional District emerged, bringing with it regional approaches for such service deliveries as sewage collection. Then a Price Waterhouse study presented three options: status quo, union with Esquimalt, or incorporation as a town. The town’s incorporation became official on December 5, 1988.

Many historic sites still exist in View Royal, including:

Several changes have gone on in View Royal in recent years, including the completion of the Island Highway Improvement Project in 2011, which included new cycle lanes, sidewalks, turning lanes, and planted medians. [6] Beginning in 2013, the Town of View Royal and District of Saanich replaced the 80-year-old Craigflower Bridge and approach roads, [7] and construction began on the new Public Safety Building, completed in fall 2014. [8]

Geography

View Royal is divided into eight neighbourhoods based on topography, transportation corridors, natural environment, and the age of housing stock. These neighbourhoods are Atkins, Burnside, Craigflower, Harbour, Helmcken, Hospital, Thetis, and Wilfert.

View Royal has 70 municipal parks and 25 kilometres (16 mi) of trails. [9] View Royal's shoreline includes sandy beaches with small caves, large driftwood, and rocks, which are home to starfish, crabs, seals, and other marine life.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, View Royal had a population of 11,575 living in 4,915 of its 5,175 total private dwellings, a change of

In 2011, there were almost 4,140 housing units in the town with a median population age of 44.1 years, which compares to the CRD at 44.8. [10]

Historical census populations – View Royal
YearPop.±%
1986 4,963    
1991 5,925+19.4%
1996 6,441+8.7%
2001 7,271+12.9%
YearPop.±%
2006 8,768+20.6%
2011 9,381+7.0%
2016 10,408+10.9%
2021 11,575+11.2%
Source: Statistics Canada [2]

Ethnicity

Panethnic groups in the Town of View Royal (2001−2021)
Panethnic
group
2021 [2] 2016 [11] 2011 [12] 2006 [13] 2001 [14]
Pop. %Pop.%Pop.%Pop.%Pop.%
European [lower-alpha 1] 8,6108,0458,0857,7106,490
Indigenous 670435250160180
South Asian 655565415215190
East Asian [lower-alpha 2] 615350210250190
Southeast Asian [lower-alpha 3] 2702001706585
African 2051352013060
Middle Eastern [lower-alpha 4] 1054515300
Latin American 100904511025
Other/Multiracial [lower-alpha 5] 303501045
Total responses11,2609,9109,2458,6757,260
Total population11,57510,4089,3818,7687,271
Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses

Religion

According to the 2021 census, religious groups in View Royal included: [2]

Notes

  1. Statistic includes all persons that did not make up part of a visible minority or an indigenous identity.
  2. Statistic includes total responses of "Chinese", "Korean", and "Japanese" under visible minority section on census.
  3. Statistic includes total responses of "Filipino" and "Southeast Asian" under visible minority section on census.
  4. Statistic includes total responses of "West Asian" and "Arab" under visible minority section on census.
  5. Statistic includes total responses of "Visible minority, n.i.e." and "Multiple visible minorities" under visible minority section on census.

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References

  1. "British Columbia Regional Districts, Municipalities, Corporate Name, Date of Incorporation and Postal Address" (XLS). British Columbia Ministry of Communities, Sport and Cultural Development. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "View Royal (Code 5917047) Census Profile". 2021 census . Government of Canada - Statistics Canada . Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  3. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2022-02-09). "Profile table, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population - View Royal, Town (T) [Census subdivision], British Columbia". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
  4. Craigflower Manor and Schoolhouse, B.C. Ministry of Tourism and Culture website retrieved 21-09-10
  5. "Archives & Heritage".
  6. Annual Report - Year Ended 2011
  7. Craigflower Bridge Replacement Project Archived October 21, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  8. New Public Safety Building
  9. Annual Report - Year Ended 2013
  10. "2011 Census Profile". 8 February 2012.
  11. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2021-10-27). "Census Profile, 2016 Census". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  12. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2015-11-27). "NHS Profile". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  13. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2019-08-20). "2006 Community Profiles". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  14. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2019-07-02). "2001 Community Profiles". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-03-08.