Metchosin

History

Following the establishment of farms by the Puget Sound Agricultural Company in the Victoria area, independent settlers entered the Metchosin area. In 1851, Captain Cooper bought land on the shores of Witty’s Lagoon, that became the first farm in Metchosin, called Bilston Farm and farmed by Thomas Blinkhorn. Other settlers followed and cleared the arable land.

In 1861, Race Rocks Lighthouse was built. In the early 1880s, two quarantine stations were built by the federal government, first on Albert Head in 1883 and then William Head, which inspected and controlled all people entering Canada for infectious diseases. Starting in 1924, Bentinck Island was used as a leper colony. As medical procedures progressed, the leper colony was closed in 1956, and in 1958, the quarantine station at William Head was converted into a minimum-security prison. The station at Albert Head became part of CFB Esquimalt.

In 1984, the Municipality of the District of Metchosin was incorporated, mainly to protect its rural character from the encroaching suburban sprawl.

Geography

Climate

Metchosin has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csb) in parts caused by the rain shadow and to the east of the strait of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, but keeping some oceanic characteristics (Cfb). Sligo, Ireland has very close temperatures with only a slightly warmer summer. The biggest difference is in the summer drying, common of the Pacific Northwest. | Jan record high C = 12.2 | Feb record high C = 15 | Mar record high C = 18.3 | Apr record high C = 23.9 | May record high C = 29.4 | Jun record high C = 32.2 | Jul record high C = 32.2 | Aug record high C = 31.1 | Sep record high C = 30 | Oct record high C = 24.4 | Nov record high C = 15.6 | Dec record high C = 14.4 | year record high C = 32.2 | Jan record low C = -13.9 | Feb record low C = -12.2 | Mar record low C = -4.4 | Apr record low C = -2.8 | May record low C = -0.6 | Jun record low C = 1.7 | Jul record low C = 3.9 | Aug record low C = 5.6 | Sep record low C = -0.6 | Oct record low C = -5 | Nov record low C = -6.1 | Dec record low C = -12.2 | year record low C = -13.9 |access-date= May 24, 2019 }}

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Metchosin had a population of 5,067 living in 1,856 of its 1,938 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 4,708. With a land area of 69.57 km2, it had a population density of in 2021.

| 1986 |3676 | 1991 |4232 | 1996 |4709 | 2001 |4857 | 2006 |4795 | 2011 |4803 | 2016 |4708 | 2021 |5067

Ethnicity

Religion

According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Metchosin included:

• Irreligion (3,120 persons or 66.2%)
• Christianity (1,480 persons or 31.4%)
• Buddhism (20 persons or 0.4%)
• Other (80 persons or 1.7%)

Parks

• Albert Head Lagoon Regional Park
• Blinkhorn Nature Park
• Buckbrush Swamp
• Devonian Regional Park
• Matheson Lake Regional Park
• Witty's Lagoon Regional Park
• Galloping Goose Regional Park

Notes

References

References

1. "British Columbia Regional Districts, Municipalities, Corporate Name, Date of Incorporation and Postal Address". British Columbia Ministry of Communities, Sport and Cultural Development.
2. (February 8, 2023). "Metchosin, District municipality [Census subdivision], British Columbia and Capital, Regional district [Census division], British Columbia". [[Statistics Canada]].
3. "Metchosin". The Canadian Encyclopedia.
4. (2024). "Community History: History and Heritage of Metchosin". District of Metchosin.
5. (2024). "Quarantine Station". Metchosin Museum Society.
6. "Metchosin, British Columbia Köppen Climate Classification (Weatherbase)".
7. "O clima típico de qualquer lugar da Terra - Weather Spark".
8. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada. (2021-10-27). "Census Profile, 2016 Census".
9. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada. (2015-11-27). "NHS Profile".
10. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada. (2019-08-20). "2006 Community Profiles".
11. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada. (2019-07-02). "2001 Community Profiles".
12. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada. (2019-06-04). "Electronic Area Profiles Profile of Census Divisions and Subdivisions, 1996 Census".
13. "Regional Parks and Trails Maps".
14. "District of Metchosin Regional Parks".