Living in Victoria

Health Care

Medical Services Per Capita

Greater Victoria compares favourably to both Metro Vancouver and BC in terms of availability of medical services. Its ratio of 679 residents per General Practitioner (family doctor) is significantly lower than the provincial average of 911 people per GP. Including all health practitioners, the region has 230 people per practitioner, again significantly lower than the provincial ratio of 324 people per practitioner.

Over the last three years, the ratio of residents to General Practitioners has increased in Greater Victoria, which suggests the availability of a family doctor has been slightly reduced. Access to the full range of health practitioners appears to be improving, however, as the ratio of residents to Total Health Practitioners declines.

Population per Total Health Practitioner

Population per practitioner information provides a measure of access to health services. The lower the ratio, the better access would be expected.

		2005/06	2006/07	2007/08	Change 06/07-07/08
Population per General Practitioner	BC	909	906	911	0.6%
	Greater Victoria	661	676	679	0.3%
	Metro Vancouver	979	995	1003	0.8%
Population per Total Health Practitioner*	BC	336	328	324	-1.4%
	Greater Victoria	235	234	230	-1.4%
	Metro Vancouver	327	326	323	-0.8%
*Total Health Practitioners includes General Practitioners, specialists, optometrists, midwives, podiatrists, dental surgeons, oral medicine specialists/surgeons, orthodontists, physical therapists, chiropractors, massage therapists and naturopaths. Source: MSP Information Resource Manual 05/06-07/08 Table 5-3

Canadian Community Health Survey

Respondents in Greater Victoria consistently report having better overall health and lower risk factors than respondents in Canada. The differences are not as significant between Greater Victoria and BC, but there are still several areas where Greater Victoria fares better.

Compared to the rest of Canada, Greater Victoria residents consume more fruits and vegetables, are more physically active, are more likely to have a medical doctor, and have a higher perception of good health. They also have lower rates of diabetes, obesity and smoking. In 2003, Greater Victoria also had significantly lower rates of binge drinking and being overweight, but those differences have closed in the last two surveys.

There is not a single indicator where Greater Victoria scores worse than either BC or Canada.

Results from the Canadian Community Health Survey provide a comparative measure of various health indicators that influence quality of life.

The results shown here are for statistically significant differences between Greater Victoria and the comparison areas of BC and Canada.

• "-" means the Greater Victoria results are not significantly different than the comparison region (Canada or BC).
• "Higher" means the Greater Victoria results are higher than the comparison region, while "Lower" means the Greater Victoria results are lower than the comparison region.

	Greater Victoria relative to British Columbia			Greater Victoria relative to Canada
	2003	2005	2007	2003	2005	2007
Perceived good health	-	Higher	Higher	-	Higher	Higher
Perceived mental health	-	-	Higher	-	-	-
A lot of stress	n/a	n/a	-	n/a	n/a	-
Have diabetes	-	-	-	-	-	Lower
Have high blood pressure	-	-	-	-	-	-
Have asthma	-	-	-	-	-	-
Overweight	-	-	-	Lower	-	-
Obese	-	-	-	Lower	Lower	Lower
Smokers	-	-	Lower	Lower	Lower	Lower
Binge Drinking	-	-	-	Lower	-	-
Fruits and Vegetable Consumption	n/a	n/a	Higher	n/a	n/a	Higher
Physical Activity	-	Higher	Higher	Higher	Higher	Higher
Have an MD	-	-	-	Higher	Higher	Higher
Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey

Housing

Housing Prices

Average housing prices in Greater Victoria rose dramatically between 2003 and 2008, as did those in most of the rest of the province. Overall, the increase in Greater Victoria was slightly less than that for the province as a whole and somewhat less than that in Metro Vancouver.

Greater Victoria consistently had the second highest average housing prices in the province after Metro Vancouver.

Average housing prices are a measure of affordability in a region and also track trends in population and the regional economy.

Average prices by region include apartments, townhouses, duplexes and detached housing sold through the Multiple Listing Service. As a result, the average price of a single family detached house will be higher than the market average while the average apartment price will be lower.

Average Housing Prices (from Multiple Listing Service)	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	Change 2003-2008
BC	$259,835	$288,967	$332,137	$390,963	$439,119	$454,599	75%
Greater Victoria	$280,084	$324,484	$379,686	$427,154	$466,974	$484,898	73%
Metro Vancouver	$329,447	$373,875	$425,745	$509,876	$570,795	$593,767	80%
Source: BC Stats, Capital Regional District.

Housing Costs and Characteristics

As of the 2006 Census, the average dwelling in Greater Victoria had the second highest value among the top 20 metro areas in Canada, trailing only Metro Vancouver. Despite these high prices, Greater Victoria homes are somewhat smaller than homes elsewhere in Canada, averaging 6.2 rooms per dwelling, ranking 15^th among the top 20 metro areas. This is due in large part to the larger number of apartments and fewer single family homes compared to some other parts of the country.

On a monthly basis, median rents in Greater Victoria rank only 7^th highest in Canada and median monthly payments for owner-occupied dwellings rank 13^th. In both cases they are substantially less than in Metro Vancouver.

Housing indicators collected through the Statistics Canada Census can be compared for metropolitan areas across Canada.

Two measures of monthly housing costs are provided, for renters and for those making payments on an owner-occupied dwelling.

Average home values provide an indication of housing affordability, but dwellings are not the same in all parts of Canada. The final two Indicators measure the relative size and condition of the housing stock.

2006 Housing Indicators	Median Monthly Rent	Median Monthly Housing Payments (Owner-Occupied)	Average Value of Owned Dwelling	Average Rooms per Dwelling	Dwellings Requiring Major Repair
British Columbia	$752	$876	$418,703	6.4	7.4%
Greater Victoria	$747	$895	$487,350	6.2	5.9%
Metro Vancouver	$812	$1,081	$520,937	6.1	6.8%
Greater Victoria Rank among Canada's Top 20 Metro Areas	7	13	2	15	13
Source: Statistics Canada Census

Climate

Greater Victoria is known for having the most temperate climate of any large Canadian city.

Compared to Calgary and Edmonton, which are the two closest Canadian metropolitan areas outside BC, Greater Victoria has warmer winters, similar summers, relatively little snow, and substantially more rainfall.

Climate can be an important consideration for people interested in relocating for employment, retirement or general quality of life reasons.

	January Average (°C)	July Average (°C)	Average Annual Rainfall (mm)	Average Annual Snowfall (cm)
Greater Victoria	3.8	16.4	841.4	43.8
Metro Vancouver	3.3	17.5	1,154.7	48.2
Calgary	-8.9	16.2	320.6	126.7
Edmonton	-11.7	17.5	365.7	123.5
Note: Values are from International Airport weather stations for Victoria, Vancouver and Calgary. Edmonton is based on City Centre airport weather station. Source: Environment Canada 2009

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