2022 election turnout declines in Victoria and Saanich

Turnout declined in Victoria and Saanich this year compared to the 2018 municipal election.

Voters in Victoria elected a new mayor and eight new councillors, but fewer of them actually cast ballots than did so last time around. 

In 2018, there were 29,707 votes cast in Victoria. While this year's results have not yet been certified, with 100 per cent of precincts reporting Saturday night, 27,452 votes had been cast.

That decline was enough to take voter turnout down from 44.9 per cent in 2018 to approximately 38 per cent this year.

It was a similar story in Saanich, where turnout fell from 38.3 per cent in 2018 to roughly 31.2 per cent this year.

The uncertified results in the district show 27,975 votes cast in 2022, down from 32,538 in 2018.

The election results in Saanich were a less dramatic change than those in Victoria. Every incumbent councillor running for re-election in the district was able to secure another term, though incumbent Mayor Fred Haynes narrowly lost re-election to Dean Murdock. 

Perhaps the most shocking result of the night was the loss of Stew Young in Langford. 

Scott Goodmanson defeated the long-serving mayor with 54.1 per cent of votes cast.

Young was the first person elected to the office of mayor in Langford after the city was incorporated in 1992, and he had been re-elected ever since.

Turnout in Langford was lower than either Victoria or Saanich, but it was actually a significant increase from the 2018 election.

That year, just 4,812 votes were cast for mayor, with Young taking more than 81 per cent of them.

This year, uncertified results showed 8,279 votes cast, for a turnout of 23.6 per cent, up from 18.5 per cent last time around.