Victoria joins Saanich in approving non-binding amalgamation question for October ballot

Voters in Victoria and Saanich will be asked this fall whether they support the two municipalities becoming one in a non-binding ballot question.

Victoria voters will be asked this fall whether they support merging with Saanich after city council voted Thursday to place a non-binding amalgamation question on the 2026 general local election ballot.

Council approved the question: “Do you support Saanich and Victoria becoming one municipality?”

The motion also confirms the city will not undertake a public information campaign beyond the material already produced through the Victoria-Saanich Citizens’ Assembly. The only additional communication will be to advise voters that the referendum is non-binding and direct them to information already available through the citizens’ assembly.

The vote comes after Saanich council approved placing the same question on its ballot.

The ballot question follows a recent provincial decision not to authorize a binding referendum, saying more work is needed to understand the financial impacts, transition planning and service implications of amalgamation.

Instead, the October vote will serve as a measure of public opinion.

The amalgamation process began after the 2018 general local election, when voters in both municipalities supported creating a citizens’ assembly to study whether Victoria and Saanich should merge.

Over eight months, the 48-member panel examined governance, housing, transportation, policing, climate resilience and municipal services before recommending the two municipalities amalgamate.

However, the assembly did not produce a detailed financial analysis of the costs of amalgamation or its potential impact on property taxes.

That missing analysis was among the reasons cited by the province in declining to authorize a binding referendum.

Earlier this week, Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto said she was disappointed by the province’s decision after years of work on the citizens’ assembly process.

“There appeared to be additional requirements being layered on by the province, which were not apparent to us at the beginning of the process,” Alto said.

If voters in both municipalities approve the question in October, the results would signal support for newly elected councils to work with the province on more detailed financial and technical analysis before any future binding referendum could be considered.

Saanich says if a majority of voters in either municipality vote no, it would indicate there is not enough public support to continue pursuing amalgamation and no further work would take place.

The non-binding question will appear on ballots during the Oct. 17 general local election in both Victoria and Saanich.