Hello there!

Happy New Year! Today we have a special year-in-recap newsletter running through some of the key headlines in the Westshore in 2024. Thank you for your support all year, and we're excited to see you in 2025.

— Cam

January

In what was mostly a mild winter, January still brought some wild weather. A windstorm sent trees into multiple Westshore homes and then a cold snap messed with local pipes and stymied travel, halting school bus service.

Speaking of travel, also in January a million-dollar court verdict was won over a 2016 car crash in Sooke, while Langford approved a new traffic-calming policy intended to prevent that sort of thing.

In health, Colwood approved a new clinic while View Royal had a new treatment and recovery centre announced. 

February

The CRD and Pacheedaht signed a Memorandum of Understanding, while the Centre Mountain project—established through land swaps between Langford, Metchosin, and Sc’ianew Nation—hit some turbulence. [There was an update in the spring.]

We also heard from Langford's budget process that it would have a few years of larger tax increases, intended partly to shift the city away from relying on past surplus stashes.

Shortly after, a Langford councillor alleged that he was harassed by a disgruntled citizen, in a release that kicked off a public spat with former mayor Stew Young.

A new Spencer Middle School rainbow crosswalk was vandalized just hours after being unveiled. 

To end the month we looked at the effects of underwater noise in Juan de Fuca waters and at what local governments are trying to do about it.

March

The CRD pushed ahead with a contentious Water Supply Master Plan, seeking approval from local councils on proposals intended to make the region more drought resilient and to create a Goldstream Water Filtration Plant at the Sooke Reservoir.

In transportation news, SD62 weighed school bus fees and upgrades to the Colquitz River Bridge were announced in an effort to mitigate Westshore traffic challenges and bottlenecking.

April

Oil tanker traffic—and concerns about its effects—began to rise in local waters due to the Trans Mountain opening.

It was budget season at Westshore councils, with several facing above-average tax increases. 

May

The province added more camping options to some major Westshore parks. 

Police said they seized 3D-printed “ghost guns” in raising both Langford and Colwood.

Local distillery Sheringham won a global spirits award while Sooke began the infamous Charters Rd closure that would lead to summer traffic consternation.

June

Local athletes had an eventful month. A UVic master's student trained to run the Goose from Victoria to Sooke to promote peace. But the Langford-based national Rugby Sevens captain's trip to Strathcona Park was anything but peaceful after she was attacked by a cougar.

In View Royal, tenants fought back against a large rent increase, while nearby there was another unpleasant increase: bacteria at Westshore beaches.

Tragically, a teenager drowned at Thetis and as a result the CRD looked in late June at ways to make local beaches safer. Meanwhile, Langford City Hall flooded.

July

The month kicked off with Langford hosting its first-ever Pride Parade. The show of community pride and support was timely—just weeks after Spencer Middle's new rainbow crosswalk faced more vandalism.

Also vandalised was the iconic mammoth statue in Colwood; a suspect was later arrested.

The Westshore Rebels began their defence of their BCFC championship; they ultimately made it back to the title game, against the same opponent, but lost this time.

The Old Man Lake fire began near Sooke Potholes, becoming the South Island's biggest blaze of the year. In a much safer fire situation, local mayors faced off in a charity cook-off.

August

As the fire grew, smokejumpers dove down to battle it and locals donated food to help the hungry firefighters.

Shaking off the cougar situation earlier in the summer, the local rugby Olympians won silver in Canada's best-ever finish. Also bringing home a medal: a local student placed 3rd in the International Economics Olympiad. Not long after, a Langford man won the Canadian and world horseshoe pitching titles.

In mid-August, we covered the reopening of the Sooke Harbour House and documents that revealed the RCMP used spies at Fairy Creek.

Langford council approved a Beecher Bay First Nation venture in the Centre Mountain development after a 12-year wait.

September

September began with a disturbingly literal bang, as the house of breakout Colwood singer AP Dhillon was targeted with gunfire and arson—he wasn't there, and his houseguest was unhurt.

It wasn't the only troubling event to start the month. Tragedy struck on the same weekend as Overdose Awareness Day, as two people died at Metchosin's Taylor Beach. Teens were attacked on the Galloping Goose in an incident that raised broader trail safety concerns.

MLA Mitzi Dean announced, just 50 days before the election, that she would not run again, leaving only one incumbent for the three Westshore seats. 

Meanwhile Colwood tackled a simmering issue from the last local election when it voted to restrict developer donations and gifts to its politicians.

A local kid faced down a cougar on the walk to school, and we looked at why these encounters may be increasing.

Five Westshore leaders were chosen to receive King Charles III medals.

The month closed with the Sooke and View Royal councils denied extensions to new BC zoning rules, and with a Colwood councillor in trouble after blackface photos resurfaced. 

October

Developments in debt: Bear Mountain was put into receivership, as was Spirit Bay. 

The Westshore has BC's fastest-growing school enrolment as of this fall, and SD62 is scrambling to build enough schools to keep up. 

In an unexpected turn, what was once a Horgan stronghold ended up being one of the closest ridings in BC—and one of the few that swung the election—after a turbulent voting weekend wracked with intense weather and fatal flooding. 

The BC-wide spotlight intensified on the Juan de Fuca – Malahat riding when it emerged that BC Conservative candidate Marina Sapozhnikov made numerous anti-Indigenous comments at her election night party. She eventually lost in the final count.

Highlands and Esquimalt ended their long-running Halloween bonfires.

November

A Hwy 18 crash killed a Metchosin teen who was a lacrosse player and the grandson of former mayor John Ranns.

Another death soon rocked the region as John Horgan, the longtime local MLA and former premier, died at 65 in his third bout with cancer. 

Horgan's successor Ravi Parmar was named BC's new minister of forests.

A mother bear was killed by a vehicle in Sooke, and her cubs were being monitored for rescue but disappeared during the windstorm. 

A Sooke man was found guilty of shooting his neighbour in the stomach in 2022; it was his second trial after a mistrial earlier in the fall. 

Heritage was celebrated: The Westshore-based Victoria Grizzlies became the Victoria Salsa again—briefly bringing back their wacky (but championship-winning) former moniker. Colwood gave official designation to the century-old Pendray House.

December

A tie vote in Sooke defeated a motion to adjust zoning to comply with the new BC requirements, putting the district in defiance of the province.

Westshore MLA Randall Garrison retired after 14 years (avoiding a byelection due to the impending federal election) with an emotional speech in parliament. 

Langford voted unanimously to buy the Westhills YW/YMCA building for up to $35M, citing the fact that under its current deal it was already on the hook for many of the Y's ballooning costs.

A public memorial to John Horgan drew thousands to Colwood, including the premier and prime minister.

Community Events

🥂 Dance into the New Year with Rocksteady in the Westshore Ballroom at Four Points by Sheraton. [6:30pm on Dec. 31]

🍾 New Year's Eve Dance at Langford Legion. Music by Kooler and Court Land. 8pm-1am. [Event]

🎳 NYE at Langford Lanes: Bowling lanes open until 1am. [Info]

🎆 Midnight at Darcy's NYE bash with $15 general entry. Begins 8pm. [Tickets]