TopNational Historic Site · 1854–1856Craigflower Schoolhouse2765 Admirals RoadPhoto: Haemo · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
Dominion Astrophysical Observatory · Photo: Eminoro & Simon Villeneuve · CC BY-SA 3.02historic places on the registers
History of Saanich · Canada’s heritage registers
Heritage in Saanich: 2 historic places, all of the highest rank
Craigflower Schoolhouse, begun in 1854, is the oldest in Saanich by its record. Wikidata dates the municipality to 1906, which may be its founding, its incorporation or a later merger. Scaled to its population, Saanich’s 0.2 per 10,000 residents beats 71% of Canadian towns. Behind these stands one more local or provincial listing that only Wikidata records.
Historic places
2
0.2 per 10,000 residents
Highest designations
2
National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings
Oldest building
1854
the first construction date on its record
Homes built before 1961
24%
typical town: 18%
In pictures
Historic Saanich: 2 photos, 1 old pictures
Both of Saanich’s designated places are pictured. Two to begin with: Dominion Astrophysical Observatory and Craigflower Schoolhouse.
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, each credited to its photographer with its licence; names open the place’s page. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Through time
Saanich in old pictures
A single old picture: the oldest view of one of its historic places. Open it full screen with a tap.
c. 1928Public domain or CC0, made before 1950, from Wikimedia Commons; old views of places can be drawings, prints or maps of their time. Each credit opens the image’s page.
The map
Where Saanich’s history is
Every place on the registers inside the town, by its designation.
Highest designations
Dots open their places’ pages; hover first to read the name.
The 2, by tier
2 Highest designations
Parks Canada’s Directory of Federal Heritage Designations lists the places the Government of Canada has recognized; outside Québec, provincial and municipal listings come only through Wikidata, and only those with an encyclopedia article get a page.
Points from Wikidata (Parks Canada’s files carry none) and from Québec’s register, as mapped there.
Highest designations
2 places in Saanich with the highest designation
The oldest, Craigflower Schoolhouse, dates from 1854; the newest from 1914. National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings, Canada’s highest federal recognition. Their designations span 1964 to 2010. Each one opens its own page.
TopNational Historic Site · 1914–1919Dominion Astrophysical Observatory5071 West Saanich RoadPhoto: Eminoro & Simon Villeneuve · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
Around the town
The registers find 12 places within 5 km of Saanich
Among them are 10 provincial or municipal listings and 2 National Historic Sites. Nearest comes Bay Street Substation, 4.3 km off, in Victoria. Bay Street Drill Hall, 4.3 km off, is the nearest of 2 top-tier places.
The 12 nearest, within 5 km
| Bay Street SubstationListed in a community heritage register · 4.3 km away, in Victoria |
| Bay Street Drill HallNational Historic Site · 1914–1916 · 4.3 km away, in Victoria |
| Point Ellice House / O'Reilly HouseNational Historic Site · 1861–1865 · 4.4 km away, in Victoria |
| 1114 Arthur Currie LaneHeritage designation · 4.4 km away, in Victoria |
| Hook Sin Tong Charity BuildingHeritage designation · 1911 · 4.9 km away, in Victoria |
| Hudson's Bay Company Department StoreListed in a community heritage register · 4.9 km away, in Victoria |
| Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association and Chinese Public SchoolHeritage designation · 1909 · 5 km away, in Victoria |
| Masonic TempleListed in a community heritage register · 1878 · 5 km away, in Victoria |
| Gee Tuck Tong Benevolent Association BuildingHeritage designation · 5 km away, in Victoria |
| Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association BuildingListed in a community heritage register · 1900 · 5 km away, in Victoria |
| On Hing BuildingListed in a community heritage register · 1891 · 5 km away, in Victoria |
| On Hing & Brothers StoreListed in a community heritage register · 1913 · 5 km away, in Victoria |
Homes by age
24% of Saanich’s homes are older than 1961, against a usual 18%
New building in Saanich runs at the usual pace: 4% of homes from 2016–21, the typical town 4.1%. Saanich’s largest group of homes, 33%, went up from 1961 to 1980. Few of Saanich’s homes date from 2001 to 2015: 10%, the norm 15%.
24%
Before 1961
33%
1961–80
30%
1981–2000
10%
2001–15
4%
2016–21
SaanichTypical town
2021 Census, private dwellings by period of construction (Statistics Canada); the typical town is the middle Canadian town of 2,500 or more.
Neighbours
Saanich and its neighbours
| Town | People | Places | Highest | Oldest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saanich | 126,011 | 2 | 2 | 1854 |
| Victoria | 103,888 | 80 | 23 | 1843 |
| New Songhees 1A | 2,052 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Esquimalt | 19,512 | 42 | 2 | 1855 |
| Oak Bay | 18,626 | 3 | 2 | 1903 |
| View Royal | 12,795 | 1 | 1 | 1853 |
| Colwood | 22,794 | 27 | 7 | 1859 |
In brief
Saanich in brief
Saanich has 24% of its homes from before 1961, against 18% in the typical town. In all there are 2 historic places, 2 with the highest designation. The other figures are unremarkable: it has 2 historic places, about typical for a town its size (the middle one has 5); and its places were designated between 1964 and 2010.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The grade. There is no history grade: the page sets out the record and compares it with other towns.
- The tiers. Tiers follow the designation: national recognition and classement first, other federal designations next, provincial and local listings last.
- Map points. Pins for federal places come from Wikidata rather than Parks Canada, which gives no points.
- People and events. Parks Canada’s open file gives its national historic persons no place. A town’s page names one only when the person was born there (matched by name and both life years) or one of its own historic places carries the name and its record speaks of them; national historic events stay off.
- Protection. Federal recognition isn’t a planning control: buildings the federal government owns follow its heritage policy, while others are protected only by a provincial or municipal designation.
- The federal register. Every federal designation is in Parks Canada’s directory, and the Canadian Register of Historic Places gives most of them a bilingual statement of significance.
- Provincial and municipal lists. Outside Québec, provinces’ and municipalities’ heritage registers aren’t open data; their places are known only through Wikidata items with a register number, and only those with an encyclopedia article get a page.
Questions about Saanich’s history
Which places in Saanich have the highest designation?
Craigflower Schoolhouse and Dominion Astrophysical Observatory.
What is the oldest building in Saanich?
Craigflower Schoolhouse (National Historic Site): the first construction date on its record is 1854.
How old are the homes in Saanich?
24% predate 1961, where the typical town has 18%.
Why might a heritage building in Saanich be missing here?
Its province’s and council’s own lists can’t be reused here; one further listing in Saanich shows up only as a Wikidata number.
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada (Parks Canada).
Sources: Parks Canada, Directory of Federal Heritage Designations · Canadian Register of Historic Places (federal extract) · Wikidata (CC0) for map points, other names and articles · Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (homes by period of construction). 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).