Federal election 2025: Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke riding

Images: Parliament of Canada website

There are two current Westshore ridings. Both are descendants of Esquimalt Juan de Fuca, which was won by NDP Randall Garrison before redistricting in 2015. Prior to that it had been dominated by Keith Martin, who ran with several parties: the Liberals (2004, 2006, 2008), Alliance (2000), Reform (1997, 1993) and briefly sat as an independent. Before Martin the seat was occupied by former premier Dave Barrett, the NDP's first BC Premier. Garrison had been a relatively close second at points in the 2000s before breaking through in 2011.

Garrison then held the descendant riding of Esquimalt–Saanich–Sooke until his retirement last year, winning comfortably multiple times before stepping aside this past winter for health reasons after cueing up Sooke Mayor Maja Tait as his successor as NDP candidate. Esquimalt–Saanich–Sooke skirts underneath the other Westshore riding, going along the coastline from Sooke at the edge through Metchosin and Colwood and then Esquimalt, and cuts inland to include View Royal and parts of Saanich.

The other portion of that previous Esquimalt–Juan de Fuca riding was combined with parts of the Cowichan riding to create Cowichan–Malahat–Langford.

Below are the 2025 candidates, in descending order of the party vote share in the riding’s past elections. Those party vote percentages are included in brackets, from the most recent in 2021 to the earliest in 2015. Candidate photos from campaign materials.

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Maja Tait – NDP (43%, 34%, 35%)

Tait has been on Sooke council since 2008, winning a seat shortly after moving to Sooke, and was elected mayor in 2014, 2018, and most recently in 2022 with 72% of the vote. She is on the CRD board and in 2019 was elected as president of the Union of BC Municipalities.

Priorities: environmental protection, affordable housing and rentals, getting federal funding for Sooke Gathering Place, reduce GST for small businesses, dental care / pharmacare, grocery price caps, supporting Indigenous and 2SLGBTQ+ rights

[ Candidate page] [ Candidate Instagram] [ Campaign Facebook]

Stephanie McLean – Liberal (22%, 18%, 27%)

McLean is a Colwood lawyer and a former Alberta NDP minister who served as Minister of Status of Women and Minister of Service Alberta in the Notley government before moving to the Island. In office she added protections against predatory lending, established community grants, modernized vital-stats collection, and oversaw the creation and development of the Ministry of Status of Women.

Priorities: "protecting our country [...] building more homes for British Columbians, and growing a strong local economy"

Supporting CFB Esquimalt and increasing defence spending, clean energy projects, seniors

[ Candidate page] [ Party riding assoc. Instagram] [ Party riding assoc. Facebook]

Grant Cool – Conservative(21%, 19%, 18%)

Cool is an aerospace engineer who moved to Victoria five years ago after working around Canada and the US. He has designed lower-emission vehicles and aircraft and has run mining, materials science, and transportation businesses.

Priorities: "restoring affordability, public safety, & prosperity"

Veteran supports, seniors supports, more addiction treatment spaces, stricter sentencing for crimes, cutting taxes

[ Candidate page] [ Campaign Facebook]

Ben Homer-Dixon – Green (9%, 26%, 20%)

Homer-Dixon is a UVic geography student who has delivered a TEDx Talk on climate inaction. He has done field research on local creeks, forests, and urban areas.

Priorities: "climate action, social justice, and economic equity"

From recent debate: Dental & pharmacare, small business support, preventing marine pollution, digital infrastructure, disaster mitigation

[ Candidate page] [ Campaign Instagram]

Nikita Heurtier – PPC(2%, 2%, N/A)

Heurtier is a UVic grad and a kinesiologist in Victoria.

[Candidate page currently inactive]

Robert Crooks – Communist ( <1% , <1%, <1%)

Crooks ran in Victoria – Swan Lake last fall. He hails from Winnipeg, where he worked doing free arts programming for youth.

Priorities: Anti-poverty, affordability

From last fall's provincial run: Affordability; rights of workers, renters, women, 2SLGBTQ+ people, & others; ending tax breaks for corporations & wealthy; dental, pharma, and mental health care

[No candidate page so far]

Param Bhatti - Independent (N/A, N/A, N/A)

Bhatti cites "over a decade of experience in leading large-scale projects across global industries"

Priorities: "Economic opportunity, accessible healthcare, and skills training"

Permanent GST exemption on essential services, tax credits for volunteers, essential skills training, cutting travel perks for MPs, housing affordability (through public housing, rent-to-own, community land trusts, fast-tracking approvals, and incentives)

[ Candidate website]

David Schaafsma - Christian Heritage(N/A, N/A, N/A)

A Colwood-area optmetrist who moved to the area in 1993 from San Diego

Priorities: "Life, Family and Freedom."

[ Candidate Page]

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Details on this year’s federal election

There are four major parties fielding candidates in BC in the upcoming federal election: the Liberal Party of Canada, the Conservative Party of Canada, the NDP, and the Green Party of Canada. There are also other smaller parties and independent candidates. You can find basic information about each party and their platform at the bottom of this page, or by using the links below.

Liberal Party of Canada | Conservative Party of Canada | NDP | Green Party of Canada | Rhinoceros Party of Canada | People’s Party of Canada | Christian Heritage Party of Canada | Communist Party of Canada

How to Vote

Federal election advance voting on April 18-21, in person, or by mail before April 22.

Where to vote

Unlike the BC provincial election, you must submit your ballot at your designated polling station.

If you register in advance, you will receive a voter information card with your designated polling station in the mail.

You can also look up your designated polling station online by searching your postal code on the Elections Canada page for Saanich-Gulf Islands.