Hello there!

The Westshore region's most prominent person died this week, just a few months into being a senior citizen and little more than a year into his retirement from a long career in politics. John Horgan, who returned his party to power after a decade and a half in opposition, lived just long enough to see it enter unprecedented territory with its third straight election win.

This week tributes poured in from those in the party and outside it, from those in the Westshore and outside it, and from those who knew him and those who didn't. In today's first story, we look at the life of the local leader and the responses to his death.

— Cam

NEWS

John Horgan dies at 65 after third bout with cancer

Horgan, who served 5 terms as Langford MLA and 5+ years as premier, died at the Royal Jubilee Hospital on Tuesday morning. He was “surrounded by family, friends, and love in his final days,” according to a statement from his family.

“Our hearts are broken,” the brief statement began, and it closed with “Live Long and Prosper,” referencing Horgan’s affinity for Star Trek. He is survived by his wife Ellie and sons Evan and Nate.

The tributes that have poured in have focused on Horgan's affability, and how he tended to be personally liked even by political opponents. During his half-decade in office he maintained public approval rates that were the highest, or among the highest, of all Canadian premiers.

Horgan left the premier's office in 2022 as BC’s longest-serving NDP premier, presiding over both the party's return to power after 16 years in 2017 and its highest-ever seat count in 2020.

Horgan represented the Westshore for 18 years

He became the most prominent politician in the fast-growing region's modern history. He was first elected in Malahat-Juan de Fuca in 2005, then its successor Juan de Fuca in 2009 and 2013 while serving as energy critic for the Official Opposition.before becoming party leader in 2014. He won those races, and the 2017 election that also saw him elected premier, with over 50% of the local vote—and almost reached 70% in 2020.

In 2022, after undergoing 35 treatments for throat cancer, he announced that he would step down as premier. In 2023 he resigned as Langford MLA, and was originally (and controversially) set to become a resource corp board member but was later appointed Canada's ambassador to Germany.

“John Horgan believed in the power of public service,” began a post on X by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The PM chose Horgan for the role in fall 2023, citing his performance handling COVID-19 as well as BC’s economic growth and jobs.

Horgan took leave from the role this summer and remained in Germany receiving medical treatment until recently, when he was returned to Victoria.

Known by many as a staunch fan of Westshore lacrosse 

As NDP MLAs were sworn in on Wednesday in the legislative chambers, they wore green ribbons to honour Horgan by referencing his fandom of the Westshore-based Victoria Shamrocks. Shamrocks owner Jim Hartshorne told the Times Colonist that Horgan was a personal friend and a “superfan" who wore a team cap in photos around the world. The former premier played lacrosse in his youth, and had Irish joint citizenship.

Close relationship with Westshore successors

Horgan's Langford – Juan de Fuca riding was split in two for this election, and the men elected in each spinoff—one by a landslide, the other by one of BC's narrowest margins—were both personal friends of Horgan. Langford MLA Ravi Parmar considered him a mentor, and new Juan de Fuca – Malahat MLA Dana Lajeunesse had known him for decades.

Parmar, who was a Grade 5 student when he first met Horgan, said there were “no words to describe what John Horgan meant to me. He is the most remarkable person I have ever met.”

He wore a full Shamrocks jersey at the swearing-in, with the player name “Sundown” seemingly referencing the sunset of Horgan's life.

Possible university campus namesake

After one local posted a mockup on Facebook, momentum has been growing to name the upcoming joint university campus in Langford after Horgan.

Read more on Horgan's death and legacy here.

Timing of a public memorial for Horgan is still being determined. 

NEWS

Why we've been seeing the same shipping vessels in local waters for over a week

If you've looked out into the Juan de Fuca Strait recently, or simply the waters off of Colwood, you’ll have seen a growing number of fully loaded vessels anchored off the Westshore. They can’t unload, so they’re staying put.

That’s due to a lockout following a limited strike by about 730 dockworker foremen that began Nov. 1, and has shut down container handling at Vancouver's port which has gone on to affect other ports.

It's an extension of tensions that began bubbling up last year when the foremen's contract ended in the spring and some 7,000+ other dockworkers went on strike in the summer. In that strike, and now this one, dockworkers have been worried partly about anticipated automation in port operations, which many of them fear will mean job losses. 

Calling failed negotiations at “a total impasse,” federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon ordered striking dock foremen back to work and negotiators of both sides into a process of binding arbitration.

Read the full breakdown at Capital Daily for more on the dispute, its ramifications, and the federal intervention.

Around the 'Shore

🚰 Langford Lake being polluted by yellow sediment, neighbours say. It’s coming in from culverts, where it generates a “toxic bubble bath” of foam. So far, testing commissioned by the city has concluded that culverts samples had metal & mineral concentrations above water quality guidelines—but that the lake, which diluted this inflow, did not. [Goldstream Gazette]

🕯 Threshold Housing launches 7th campaign to help reduce youth homelessness: The “Shine A Light” project partners with Westshore retailers and is selling candles and tea as a fundraiser.

⏳ Langford war bride turns 100, and tells story of long-lasting relationship with husband who died at 104. They met on a train in England some 80 years ago, and were engaged within a week. She survived her parents' pub being bombed, and he & his brother were the only pilots from Hanley, Sask. to come back alive. In their 60s, the adventure-loving couple flew planes over the Rockies together. [Black Press]

Community Events

🎅 AIl Sooke Arts & Crafts Christmas Show. 60+ vendors: arts, crafts, ceramics, jewelry, baking, honey, and more. Fri-Sun. Free entry. Sooke Community Hall.

🚍 Watkins Way Neighbourhood Park plan open house on Sunday, 9am-noon, as part of final phase of public engagement. [Info]

🧶 Fibre Circles at Sooke Yarn & Fibre run today (10:30am-12:30pm) & Sundays (1pm-3pm).

🦖 Sooke Library events this week: Knitting, Spanish, English, storytime, baby time, family fun time, and more—plus the Dinosaur Scavenger Hunt running all month. [Schedule]  

🎄 Christmas Craft Fair at Ruth King. 10am-3pm on Sat. 40+ vendors and artisans.

🍵 Poinsettia Tea & Bazaar: 12-3pm Sat. at Gordon United Church, as well as a community dinner on Monday at the church (starts 5pm; all welcome).

🌲 Yuletide Market at Bilston Creek Farm on Fri / Sat / Sun. 90+ local businesses showcasing their products, food vendors, live music, and more.

🐟 Salmon Sensation (drop-in) at Charters Interpretive Centre on Sat., any time between 11am & 2pm. All-ages event with guided river walks, activities, crafts, and Indigenous storytelling. [Info]

⛄ Christmas Craft Fair & Tea at the Langford Legion Ladies Auxiliary on Sunday.

🖼 Gifts & Wishes Holiday Showcase. Wed.-Sat. See and shop original work from local artists and artisans at the Arts & Culture Colwood Society near Esquimalt Lagoon.

What’s Offshore?

🚢🚢🚢 As mentioned above, still anchored off the coast of Colwood are container ships Marcos V (built 2005, sailing under Panama flag), SM Qingdao (2010, Korea), and Ever Steady (2006, Singapore).

🚢🚢🚢 Further out from the harbour is container ship MSC Sofia Paz (2014, Liberia), now joined by Century Highwaygreen (2021, Japan) and OOCL Veracruz (2024, Liberia).

🛳🛳🛳 Conti Contessa, Avra.Gr, & Troodos Oak have moved on.

Westshore Snaps

A mushroom in the morning, from Yvonne Cottrell.

That’s it!

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