New Songhees 1ABritish Columbia
2,052 people call this First Nations reserve in British Columbia home. It belongs to the Victoria metropolitan area.
Is New Songhees 1A a good place to live?
Health outcomes beat most towns (A+). It is strong on walkability as well (A+). The weak point is jobs & income (D). Its other grades sit near the middle: C+ for schools and C+ for hazard risk.
New Songhees 1A is a First Nations reserve, so it has no overall grade and no place in ranked lists: Statistics Canada suppresses or doesn’t collect much of a reserve’s data, and its grades couldn’t be set fairly beside other towns’.
Rents here are the metro area's average, shared by every town and neighbourhood in it. No Safety Grade: no police service publishes a crime rate for this place on its own. Health is graded on the health region's survey figures and life expectancy, with the distance to hospital giving the town its own spread. A First Nations reserve: subject grades only, with no overall grade and no place in ranked lists.
How New Songhees 1A grades
Each subject compares New Songhees 1A with Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
New Songhees 1A is a First Nations reserve, so it has no overall grade and no place in ranked lists: Statistics Canada suppresses or doesn’t collect much of a reserve’s data, and its grades couldn’t be set fairly beside other towns’.
How TownRatings grades Canadian towns →
What makes New Songhees 1A stand out
The 3 things New Songhees 1A does most differently from other towns.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in New Songhees 1A.
New Songhees 1A gets an A+ for health
At 6%, the share of adults who smoke sits under the 8.9% for British Columbia; what’s more, on average 14% of adults live with arthritis, diabetes or high blood pressure, below both British Columbia’s towns (15%) and Canadian towns (17%). Across the region, 55% of adults say their health is very good or excellent; British Columbia as a whole manages 50%. On top of that, a baby born in the region can expect 82.7 years, 84.9 for a girl and 80.5 for a boy (2022/2024).
Very good or excellent health · adults, age-standardised
| Health | New Songhees 1A | British Columbia | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smokers | 6% | 9% | 12% |
| Chronic conditions (average share) | 14% | 15% | 17% |
| Very good or excellent health | 55% | 50% | 52% |
| Life expectancy at birth | 82.7 | 81.0 | 81.5 |
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 and life expectancy 2022/2024; Open Database of Healthcare Facilities · Health survey and life expectancy published for the South Vancouver Island Health Service Delivery Area, not by town
Winters are mild in New Songhees 1A: January nights hold at 3.8°C, above British Columbia’s towns and Canadian towns
A July afternoon in New Songhees 1A typically reaches 20.6°C. Frost comes on 10 days a year, lower than both British Columbia’s towns (60) and Canadian towns (159). A normal December brings 12 cm of snow, the most of any month. For the wettest month, look to November: 129 mm on average.
Average high by season · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Normals, 1991–2020 | New Songhees 1A | British Columbia | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| July afternoon high | 20.6°C | 23.1°C | 25.5°C |
| Days with frost a year | 10 | 60 | 159 |
| January night low | 3.8°C | 0.5°C | −13.5°C |
| Precipitation a year | 675 mm | 1,152 mm | 883 mm |
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Victoria Gonzales (City))
Household incomes in New Songhees 1A trail those of 90% of Canadian towns
Commutes averaged 23 min, lower than both British Columbia’s towns (26 min) and Canadian towns (26 min).
How working residents got to work · census 2021
| Census 2021 | New Songhees 1A | British Columbia | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 23 min | 26 min | 26 min |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021 (labour and commuting) · The 2021 census was taken in May 2021, during COVID-19 restrictions: more people than usual worked from home or were off work.
3 school boards share New Songhees 1A
Schooling in French is on offer at 2 of 24; in British Columbia, 2% of schools teach in it. Of its 21 tested schools, 5 sit in the top two fifths in British Columbia and 10 in the bottom two. Counting a 3 km margin, New Songhees 1A has 18 elementary schools, 2 secondary schools, 1 school for every grade and 3 alternative or adult schools.
| School | Level | Students | System |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shoreline Community Middle School Fourth fifth in British ColumbiaNearest elementary school, 0.3 kmElementary | Elementary | – | English public |
| Esquimalt High School Fourth fifth in British ColumbiaNearest secondary school, 1.4 kmSecondary | Secondary | – | English public |
| Beausoleil FrenchTeaches in FrenchElementary | Elementary | – | French public |
| Ecole Marigold School Top fifth in British ColumbiaResults in the top fifth in British ColumbiaElementary | Elementary | – | English public |
Schools by system · Schools within 3 km
| Schools within 3 km | New Songhees 1A | British Columbia | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| School boards | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Provincial school lists and results, 2025/26
Earthquakes are New Songhees 1A’s biggest hazard: $1.02 of damage a year per $1,000 of buildings, 34 times the norm
The national inventory holds one flood map for it, from Capital Regional District. Radon is lower than usual: 1.8% of tested homes in the survey area topped the guideline, against 6.6% for the typical town. Burn scars are few around New Songhees 1A, with 0.3% of the land within 25 km touched by fire since 1986 (0.006% a year). New Songhees 1A doesn’t get its own radon tests figures; the ones here come from the South Vancouver Island health region.
Radon tests above the guideline · share of tested homes, 200 Bq/m³
| Hazards | New Songhees 1A | British Columbia | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earthquake loss per $1,000 of buildings a year | $1.02 | $0.36 | $0.030 |
| Radon tests above the guideline | 1.8% | 1.8% | 6.6% |
NRCan seismic risk model and burned areas, Health Canada radon survey, the Flood Hazard Map Inventory
New Songhees 1A has more protected land around it than 9 in 10 Canadian towns
Within 10 km, the count of public protected areas is 18, higher than both British Columbia’s towns (14) and Canadian towns (4). Goldstream Park is the closest provincial park, at 7.8 km. The nearest national park is Gulf Islands National Park Reserve, 16 km away. Swimmers have 16 beaches within 5 km, Fleming Beach the nearest.
Protected land · of the land within 10 km
| Outdoors | New Songhees 1A | British Columbia | Canada |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected land within 10 km | 14% | 6.7% | 2.3% |
| Public protected areas within 10 km | 18 | 14 | 4 |
Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), OpenStreetMap routes and beaches
More of New Songhees 1A’s residents have an Indigenous identity than in British Columbia’s towns or Canadian towns: 24%
People 65 and over make up 28% of the town. Immigrants make up 11% of residents, below British Columbia’s towns (12%) but above Canadian towns (6.4%). One measure of family life: 11% of residents are under 15.
Ages · Share of residents in each age group, Census 2021
Schooling · Highest qualification, residents 15 and over
Women and men · all residents
54.1% of New Songhees 1A’s residents are women
Census 2021 put women at 995 and men at 845; women are 50.9% of Canada.
| New Songhees 1A | British Columbia | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 11% | 14% | 16% |
| 15 to 64 | 61% | 64% | 64% |
| 65+ | 28% | 21% | 19% |
| No certificate, diploma or degree | 23% | 13% | 16% |
| Postsecondary qualification | 42% | 56% | 56% |
Statistics Canada, Census 2021; British Columbia and Canada: medians of towns of 2,500+
In New Songhees 1A, November normally means 10°C afternoons and 5°C nights
A normal December brings highs of 8°C, lows of 4°C. November normally sees 129 mm of precipitation. August brings the warmest days, 21°C; February the coldest nights, 4°C. The forecast on the Weather page is ECCC’s for Esquimalt.
Normal highs, the months ahead · ECCC normals, 1991–2020
| Season | High | Low | Rain and snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 8°C | 4°C | 259 mm |
| Spring | 14°C | 7°C | 126 mm |
| Summer | 20°C | 12°C | 48 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 8°C | 242 mm |
ECCC normals, 1991–2020 (Victoria Gonzales (City)); the forecast is on the Weather page
New Songhees 1A’s MP is Stephanie McLean (Liberal Party of Canada), for Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke
Across British Columbia, 20 of the 43 MPs sit with the Liberal Party of Canada.
Wikidata, MAMH, MMAH, Statistics Canada
No public library stands in New Songhees 1A: the closest, GVPL: Saanich Centennial Library Branch, is 1.9 km away
The next is Saanich Centennial Branch (Saanich), 2.1 km away.
Provincial library statistics, OpenStreetMap, the CRA and Statistics Canada
Everything we know about New Songhees 1A
Royal British Columbia Museum and 34 more in and around New Songhees 1A
The best-known places to visit in and around New Songhees 1A come first; the full list is on the Attractions page.
MuseumRoyal British Columbia Museum4.5 km outside town, to the southeast · 350K visitors a year (2012)
CathedralSt. Andrew's Roman Catholic Cathedral4.4 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumFort Rodd Hill1.4 km outside town, to the west
CathedralChrist Church Cathedral4.8 km outside town, to the southeast
Art galleryUniversity of Victoria Legacy Art Galleries4.1 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumHelmcken House4.5 km outside town, to the southeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (6)
- Royal British Columbia Museum: Michal Klajban, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- St. Andrew's Roman Catholic Cathedral: Original uploader was Drhaggis at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Fort Rodd Hill: Storeswallah at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Christ Church Cathedral: This photo was taken by Ryan Bushby( HighInBC ) with his Canon PowerShot S3 IS . To see more of his photos see his galle, CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
- University of Victoria Legacy Art Galleries: Heather Stone, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Helmcken House: Hans-Jürgen Hübner / Hans-Jürgen Hübner, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Famous people from around New Songhees 1A
No notable person born in New Songhees 1A is on our list; these were born in the towns around it.
Photo credits
William Vickrey: Unknown author, Public domain · David Foster: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Meghan Ory: Thibault from Paris, France, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Ryder Hesjedal: ...some guy, CC BY 2.0
About New Songhees 1A
First Nations reserve in British Columbia
Statistics Canada counts New Songhees 1A, a First Nations reserve in British Columbia, as its own census subdivision.
Statistics Canada: population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155), Census of Population 2021, 2021 census boundaries.
- Population
- 2,052 (people, 2025 estimate)
- Province or territory
- British Columbia
- Census division
- Capital
- Metro area
- Victoria
- First Nation
- Songhees Nation
- Census subdivision
- 5917812
New Songhees 1A’s neighbours
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Statistics Canada
| Town | People | km | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Songhees 1A | 2,052 | — | — | — | — | A+ |
| Esquimalt | 19,512 | 1.9 | B+ | D− | A− | A+ |
| View Royal | 12,795 | 2.1 | B+ | D− | B | A+ |
| Saanich | 126,011 | 5.3 | A | D− | A− | A+ |
| Victoria | 103,888 | 5.5 | B− | D− | D | A+ |
| Colwood | 22,794 | 5.7 | B | D− | B+ | A+ |
| Langford | 59,664 | 6.7 | B− | D− | B− | A+ |
People: Statistics Canada, Census 2021. Distances: centre to centre.
Questions about New Songhees 1A
Who are the people of New Songhees 1A?
10% of residents belong to a visible minority, against 15% for the median of Canadian towns; 24% have an Indigenous identity and 11% are immigrants.
What kind of homes are in New Songhees 1A?
Single-detached houses make up 41% of the homes here, where Canadian towns sit at 64%; 10% are in high-rise apartments. 40% of households are one person, and the average is 2.
Has New Songhees 1A grown?
Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses it fell from 1,842 to 1,839 residents (0.2% down; Canadian towns’ median grew 4.1%); Statistics Canada now estimates 2,052.
How old are the people of New Songhees 1A?
Its median age is 50, where Canadian towns sit at 45.2.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021 · population estimates 2025 (17-10-0155) and 2021 census boundaries · CMHC rents as published by Statistics Canada (34-10-0133) · grades by TownRatings. 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).