Photo: Ken Walker · CC BY 2.5Health in Central Saanich beats 97% of Canadian towns
Adults here are more upbeat about their health than the province: 55% very good or excellent, against 50% in British Columbia. The town’s own part is the trip to care: residents of Central Saanich live 3.0 km from a hospital on average, close to the typical town’s 3.7 km. The Health grade for Central Saanich is A+, #32 of 254 in British Columbia and #141 of 2,583 Canadian towns.
What stands out about health in Central Saanich
A region that smokes less
The age-standardised smoking rate around Central Saanich is well below the typical town’s; 3.8% of adults are daily smokers. Conditions and habits ↓
Less chronic illness
High blood pressure (18%) and diabetes (5.9%) keep the region’s chronic-condition figure below the typical Canadian town’s. Conditions and habits ↓
Fewer households under strain
With a situational-vulnerability score of 1.5 out of 5, Central Saanich sits in the index’s least pressed areas. The wider area ↓
Longer lives in the region
Life expectancy in the region around Central Saanich runs 1.2 years ahead of the typical Canadian town’s, and at 65 people can expect 21.9 more years (2022/2024). The wider area ↓
Survey and life expectancy: the health region (Statistics Canada). Distances and deprivation: the town’s own areas.
Central Saanich grades A+ for health
Each input ranked against Canadian towns of 2,500 or more: the region’s four, the town’s distance to a hospital.
The region’s four figures and the town’s distance to a hospital are each ranked against Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, then averaged. Its place: #32 of 254 in British Columbia and #141 of 2,583 Canadian towns.
How the grade works
Health is graded as a regional score, labelled as such: very good or excellent self-rated health, chronic conditions (arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure averaged) and smoking from the Canadian Community Health Survey, each age-standardised so an older region isn’t marked down for age alone, and life expectancy at birth, all for the health region. The residents’ average distance to a hospital is the one input measured for the town itself, so towns in one region can still differ.
18% of the region’s adults have high blood pressure and 5.9% diabetes
What the survey finds on conditions, weight and habits for the region, the province as the tick.
Conditions and weight · 2023/2024
Habits · 2023/2024
On weight the region is ordinary for British Columbia: 25% report obesity, the province 25%. Heavy drinking runs above the province, 22% to 19%.
Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 (table 13-10-0972), as published, not adjusted for age; obesity from reported height and weight. The anxiety disorder figure is the 2021/2022 estimate: Statistics Canada found the latest too unreliable to publish here.
How the 16 health regions in British Columbia compare on life expectancy
What Statistics Canada publishes above the town: life expectancy for each health region in British Columbia, and the deprivation index for the town’s own areas.
Life expectancy at birth by health region · 2022/2024
Life expectancy in British Columbia runs from 76.6 to 86.8; this region sits 6th of the 16.
Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation · national quintile, 1 least to 5 most deprived
This is the one part of the block measured for Central Saanich itself, and it sets the scene rather than feeding the grade.
Life expectancy: Statistics Canada table 13-10-0988, three-year estimate 2022/2024, by health region.
Shorter lives than deprivation would give: 1.3 years behind the trend
Regions, not towns, with every town in a region sharing its dot: of the 102, the marked one, Central Saanich’s, lies beneath the trend.
Where residents average 2.1 on the index, regions tend to reach 84.0 years (correlation −0.83, 102 regions); the one Central Saanich belongs to trails at 82.7. Its 10 closest matches on deprivation lean longer-lived: 9 of them above it, a median of 83.5.
Life expectancy: Statistics Canada table 13-10-0988, 2022/2024, by health region. Deprivation: Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation 2021 (situational vulnerability), averaged over each region’s towns by their residents; income: 2021 Census median household income, averaged the same way. The averages and the line are TownRatings calculations.
The nearest hospital is 3.0 km from the average home in Central Saanich
Straight-line distances from each part of Central Saanich, weighted by who lives there.
Residents of Central Saanich are closer than most of the province: the typical town in British Columbia is 4.4 km from a hospital, the typical Canadian town 3.7 km.
Hospitals and clinics: Statistics Canada, Open Database of Healthcare Facilities. Pharmacies: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Straight-line distances from each dissemination area, weighted by its 2021 population.
Self-rated health beats British Columbia: 54% very good or excellent, against 50%
How adults in the health region answered the survey, not adjusted for age; the tick marks the province.
Share of adults, as answered · 2023/2024
On mental health the region is behind British Columbia, 47% very good or excellent to 49%; 25% describe most days as quite a bit stressful.
Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 (Statistics Canada table 13-10-0972), adults 18 and over, as published.
Central Saanich is 21st of 40 towns its size for nearness to a hospital
The 40 Canadian towns nearest its population (17,673 to 18,676 people), nearest a hospital first; their median is 2.9 km.
| # | Town | People | Hospital | Very good health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Downtown Yonge East ON A | 18,251 | 0.3 km | 50% |
| 2 | Kensington-Chinatown ON A | 18,597 | 0.4 km | 50% |
| 3 | Desmarchais-Crawford QC A | 18,505 | 0.5 km | 54% |
| 19 | Deux-Montagnes QC A+ | 18,516 | 2.7 km | 60% |
| 20 | Sainte-Catherine QC A | 17,782 | 2.8 km | 55% |
| 21 | Central Saanich BC A+ | 18,184 | 3.0 km | 55% |
| 22 | Swift Current SK B | 18,154 | 3.1 km | 54% |
| 23 | Cold Lake AB C− | 17,798 | 3.5 km | 48% |
| 40 | Fallingbrook ON A | 17,836 | 13 km | 56% |
The region’s very good or excellent health column is regional: towns in one region share it.
Health in the places around Central Saanich
Nearby places: distance to a hospital and each one’s regional figures. Tap a town for its health page.
| Town | Hospital | Very good health | Life exp. | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Saanich | 3.0 km | 55% | 82.7 | A+ |
| East Saanich 2 3.5 km | 1.5 km | 55% | 82.7 | A+ |
| Highlands 7.5 km | 8.0 km | 55% | 82.7 | A |
| Sidney 9.4 km | 6.5 km | 55% | 82.7 | A |
| North Saanich 10 km | 6.9 km | 55% | 82.7 | A |
| Saanich 12 km | 2.7 km | 55% | 82.7 | A+ |
| Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley 12 km | 12 km | 47% | 79.8 | B− |
Across a regional line, Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley has its own figures: life expectancy 79.8, against 82.7 here. Residents of Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley live further from a hospital, at 12 km against 3.0 km in Central Saanich.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Regional figures. Every place in the health region carries the same survey and life-expectancy figures; what is measured for Central Saanich itself is the trip to care.
- Deprivation is context. Deprivation is shown to set the scene and doesn’t count toward the grade; Statistics Canada left the territories out of the index.
- Adjusted for age. The grade’s three survey shares are age-standardised to Canada’s adults, so an older region isn’t marked down for age alone, while the survey charts show answers as given.
- What counts as a hospital. A “hospital” here is whatever the provinces listed as one in Statistics Canada’s database, which can mean a site without an emergency department.
- Distances are straight lines. Roads, rivers and ferries aren’t in it: the figure is a straight line from where people live, averaged over residents.
- Who the survey asks. People on reserves and in institutions, full-time military members and the residents of Nunavik and Eeyou Istchee aren’t interviewed by the survey.
Questions about health in Central Saanich
How is Central Saanich’s Health Grade worked out?
It will once Canada’s single grading run is done, measured on the region’s survey and life expectancy and on how far Central Saanich’s homes are from a hospital, against the typical Canadian town.
What is the life expectancy in Central Saanich?
Statistics Canada publishes it for Central Saanich’s health region only: 84.9 years for women and 80.5 for men (2022/2024).
How healthy is Central Saanich?
Self-rated health, chronic conditions, smoking and life expectancy all come out ahead of the typical Canadian town. Chronic conditions there average 14% across arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure.
How far is Central Saanich from a hospital?
Residents of Central Saanich have a clinic 2.9 km away on average and a pharmacy 1.1 km away, in straight lines.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 (13-10-0972) · Statistics Canada, life expectancy 2022/2024 (13-10-0988) · Statistics Canada, health regions 2023 (82-402-X) · Statistics Canada, Open Database of Healthcare Facilities · pharmacies © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Statistics Canada, Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation 2021. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).