After decades of debate and a first appearance on the municipal ballot in 2014, Victoria and Saanich may be a step closer to amalgamation.
At a Sept. 15 committee of the whole meeting, Saanich council agreed to work with Victoria on developing a ballot question for the 2026 general local election, asking residents whether the two municipalities should amalgamate.
The decision follows the final report of the Victoria-Saanich Citizens’ Assembly on Amalgamation, received by council at the July 14 meeting, which recommended merging the two communities after reviewing the costs, benefits and disadvantages.
First to speak was Coun. Karen Harper, who supported putting the long-standing question on the fall 2026 ballot as the “logical conclusion” and natural next step in the process, citing “transparency and good governance” as guiding her decision.
“I have taken the position consistently throughout this process that whatever the assembly says, that will be the next steps, and I would move forward on it,” she said. "We have the obligation to ensure that (residents) get to vote at the end of this process.
“To not allow them to now vote on that, I think, would be a huge mistake.”
Following Harper, Coun. Colin Plant proposed to delay council’s decision, arguing they should wait for the City of Victoria to jointly draft the ballot question before approving the report.
“Do we have a mutually agreed-upon ballot question? It's inherent that (it has) to be approved by both councils,” he said. “At that time we would say, ‘Got it, you nailed it, put it on the referendum ballot.’”
Opposing Plant’s amendment, Mayor Dean Murdock clarified that council wasn’t committing to drafting a question, but rather confirming that a ballot question will appear on the fall 2026 ballot.
“This is to enable the background work staff have to do, particularly in conjunction with the province, to get approval so that there can be a referendum question in 2026,” he said. “If we pull the plug now, we're saying we're not confident there's going to be a referendum question when I thought every step of the way we had said there would be a referendum question.
“We owe it to the voters to commit to a 2026 referendum question. They can vote for or against it, and that was what we said we would give them.”
After Plant’s first amendment failed, despite some support from council, he proposed a second amendment asking staff to produce a report focused on the financial implications of amalgamation. That motion also failed.
Lastly, Coun. Teale Phelps Bondaroff moved a third motion directing staff to work with the City of Victoria to hire an independent third party to handle engagement and education around the referendum, to “support an informed electorate” and ensure people have access to “accurate, trustworthy information.”
“I think that's really important to try to counteract some of the misinformation we see that's obviously kind of flourishing and breeding in our political discourse,” he said. “I also think this is helpful for an informed electorate.”
However, Harper opposed Bondaroff’s motion, saying that adding another layer to the process was unnecessary and that enough information is currently available for the public to make an enlightened decision.
“The point is the material's there, let it speak for itself,” she said. “Let's not make more out of this than it needs to be.
“I actually have a lot of faith in our population. We have an extremely well-educated population… and it's not our job to guide them at this point.”
Saanich’s director of legislative services Angila Bains noted that if the amalgamation succeeded in both municipalities, the merger would be worked out during the coming council term, from 2026 to 2030. She added the integration would take up much of both municipalities’ resources ahead of a joint election in 2030. Bain concluded that the costs for this process are “currently undefined.”
The assembly, which cost just under $682,000, was funded equally by Saanich, Victoria and the province.
For more information about the assembly’s final report, visit victoriasaanich.ca. All sessions and materials from the deliberation have been made available to the public on the website.
