Victoria is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1872 to 1904 and since 1925.
The riding was originally chartered as Victoria District for the special byelections held in 1871 upon the province's entry into Confederation. Like the other B.C. ridings with that appellation, however, the "District" was dropped once the temporary ridings were ratified and made "permanent" for the general election of 1872; this was the first in which the Victoria riding (by that name) appeared. From 1905 up until the 1925 election, Victoria was represented by the riding of Victoria City.
Ethnic groups (2006): 85.54% White, 4.05% Chinese, 3.07% Aboriginal, 1.26% South Asian, 1.22% Japanese, 1.15% Filipino, 1.09% Black
Languages (2011): 83.93% English, 2.92% Chinese, 1.79% French, 1.40% German
Religions (2001): 35.36% Protestant, 15.05% Catholic, 3.94% Other Christian, 1.62% Buddhist, 40.52% No religion
Median income (2005): $24,022
It covers the entire city of Victoria, the municipality of Oak Bay and the southeastern portion of the municipality of Saanich. It also includes the University of Victoria.
Riding associations are the local branches of the national political parties:
This electoral district was created in 1872 when Victoria District riding was abolished. It elected two members to the House of Commons of Canada through Block voting. Of the two it elected in 1872, one (Henry Nathan Jr.) was the first Jewish MP of Canada; the other (William Alexander "Amor De Cosmos" Smith) served as MP while also serving as premier of British Columbia.
In 1878, Sir John A. Macdonald was parachuted into the riding, as he was unelectable in eastern Canada, in the wake of the Pacific Scandal. Macdonald, previously the MP for the Marquette riding in Manitoba, had to run in a by-election as he had been appointed to the cabinet (to serve as prime minister). He chose Victoria, which had not yet held its portion of the 1878 Canadian federal election. Victorians voted for him enthusiastically, as he promised to finally bring about the construction of what became the Canadian Pacific Railway. He did not run for re-election in Victoria, instead securing a safe seat in Ontario in 1882.[6]
It was abolished in 1903, and its territory was divided between the new single-member ridings of Victoria City and Nanaimo.
It was re-created in 1924 from the Victoria City riding, electing one member to the House of Commons.
A redistribution in 1966 trimmed the size of the riding slightly, removing parts of Saanich west of Cedar Hill Road and north of Cedar Hill Cross Road.
Victoria was one of two electoral districts in British Columbia that saw no changes to its boundaries proposed following the 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution.
This riding has elected the following members of Parliament:
The current member of Parliament for Victoria is Laurel Collins. She was first elected in 2019. She is a member of the New Democratic Party. Previously, she was a sociology instructor at the University of Victoria and served on Victoria City Council.
The Victoria riding name was re-established as a one-member seat in 1924.
The Victoria riding was abolished in 1903. Successor ridings were Victoria City and, for western parts of the riding, Nanaimo. This riding elected two members to parliament.
48°24′N 123°18′W / 48.4°N 123.3°W / 48.4; -123.3