Health care
Weeks waiting for surgery
Area: Vancouver Island (Island Health)
7.1 weeks
Getting better
Was 7.9 weeks in 2024/25
Source: B.C. Ministry of Health, 2025/26
Is Victoria moving in the right direction?
7 measures people feel in daily life, from public agencies. Tap one to see the details and the source.
3 getting better · 4 getting worse
Headline measures
Cost of living
Prices vs a year ago
Area: Victoria area (price index)
+3.4%
Getting worse
Was +2.4% in Sep 2025
Source: Statistics Canada, Sep 2026
Cost of living
Rent for a 2-bedroom
Area: Greater Victoria (CMA)
$2,127 a month
Getting worse
Was $2,001 in Oct 2024
Source: CMHC, via Statistics Canada, Oct 2025
Housing
Mortgage payment, share of income
Area: Greater Victoria (CMA)
45% of income
Getting better
Was 48% a year earlier (Apr–Jun 2025)
Source: BC Stats, Apr–Jun 2026
Downtown
People without a home during the year
Area: Capital Region
2,531 people
Getting worse
Was 2,389 in 2023
Source: BC Stats, 2024
Downtown
Toxic drug deaths in B.C., per year
Area: All of B.C.
1,855 deaths
Getting better
Was 2,025 in 2024
Counting method changed in 2025
Source: Public Health Agency of Canada, 2025
Downtown
Business building permits downtown
Area: Downtown Victoria
61 permits a year
Getting worse
Was 69 a year in 2020–2022 and 114 a year in 2017–2019
Source: City of Victoria, Calendar years 2023–2025
What the area labels mean
- Area: Downtown VictoriaThe City of Victoria’s Downtown neighbourhood only.
- Area: City of VictoriaThe City of Victoria municipality only, all neighbourhoods.
- Area: Victoria area (price index)Statistics Canada’s consumer price index for Victoria: prices collected in the Victoria urban area, not the City alone.
- Area: Greater Victoria (CMA)Statistics Canada’s Victoria metropolitan area: 13 municipalities plus nearby electoral-area and reserve lands.
- Area: Capital RegionThe Capital Regional District: 13 municipalities and 3 electoral areas, including the Southern Gulf Islands and Salt Spring Island.
- Area: Vancouver Island (Island Health)Island Health’s whole service area: Vancouver Island and surrounding communities, not only Greater Victoria.
- Area: All of B.C.The whole province of British Columbia. No open figure is published for Victoria alone.
- Area: All of CanadaCanada as a whole, shown only for comparison.
Each measure’s page lists exactly which places are included.
More measures
Supporting measures from the same agencies. Those marked “Calculated here” are worked out by this site from public data; each page shows the formula and sources.
- Surgery waiting list, in weeks of surgeries17.3 weeks of surgeriesCalculated hereArea: Vancouver Island (Island Health) compared with Comparison area: All of B.C. Getting better
- Rent after inflation+44% in 10 years, after inflationCalculated hereArea: Greater Victoria (CMA) compared with Comparison area: Victoria area (price index) Getting worse
- Homelessness per 1,000 residents5.5 per 1,000 residentsCalculated hereArea: Capital Region compared with Comparison area: All of B.C. Getting worse
- Toxic drug death rate, B.C. vs Canada32.6 per 100,000 people (B.C.)Calculated hereArea: All of B.C. compared with Comparison area: All of Canada For context
- Businesses operating in Greater Victoria11,394 businessesArea: Greater Victoria (CMA) About the same
- Police-reported crime74.6 index pointsArea: Greater Victoria (CMA) Getting worse
- Crime compared with B.C. and Canada74.6 index points (Victoria)Calculated hereArea: Greater Victoria (CMA) compared with Comparison area: All of B.C. Comparison area: All of Canada For context
- New homes started, last 12 months4,060 homesArea: Greater Victoria (CMA) Getting worse
- Homes completed vs population growth3,952 homes completedCalculated hereArea: Greater Victoria (CMA) For context
- New homes approved by the City1,646 homesArea: City of Victoria Mixed signals
- New homes approved per 1,000 residents11.0 a year per 1,000 residentsCalculated hereArea: City of Victoria compared with Comparison area: Capital Region Comparison area: All of B.C. Getting better
- Adults with a regular doctor or nurse practitioner79.9% of adultsArea: All of B.C. Getting worse
- Rental apartments available3.1% vacantArea: Greater Victoria (CMA) Getting better
- People looking for work who can't find it4.8% unemployedArea: Greater Victoria (CMA) About the same
Not measured yet
These matter, but no open data file from a public agency covers them for Victoria, so no Victoria number is shown. What would be needed.
Health care
Wait to see a specialist before surgery
Not measured yet · not yet open: proposal
Surgery waits are counted from when the surgeon books the operation. The earlier wait, from a family doctor’s referral to the specialist visit, is not published as open data.
Held by: B.C. Ministry of Health.
Health care
Emergency department waits, by hospital
Not measured yet · not yet open: proposal
No open data file of emergency department waits at Royal Jubilee, Victoria General or other Island Health hospitals was found.
Held by: B.C. Ministry of Health and Island Health.
Health care
People waiting for a family doctor in Greater Victoria
Not measured yet · not yet open: proposal
Only a province-wide survey figure is open. Counts of people waiting for a family doctor in Greater Victoria are not published as open data.
B.C.-wide context, not Victoria: 79.9% of adults in B.C. have a regular doctor or nurse practitioner (2024, Statistics Canada). See that measure.
Held by: B.C. Ministry of Health.
Housing
Hidden homelessness and one-night counts
Not measured yet · not yet open: proposal
People staying temporarily with friends or family are not in the yearly estimate. Greater Victoria’s one-night count results are published as reports, not as open data.
National context, not Victoria: 11.2% of households in Canada said they had experienced hidden homelessness at some point in their lives (Statistics Canada, Canadian Housing Survey, 2022). Source: Statistics Canada, The Daily, February 12, 2025.
Held by: Capital Regional District, BC Housing and BC Stats.
Downtown
Drug harms in Greater Victoria
Not measured yet · not yet open: proposal
Toxic drug deaths, overdose hospital visits and ambulance calls for Greater Victoria or Island Health are not published as open data. Only B.C. totals are.
Held by: BC Coroners Service and B.C. Ministry of Health.
Downtown
Unreported crime, foot traffic and empty storefronts downtown
Not measured yet · not yet open: proposal
Police figures miss crime that is never reported. Downtown foot traffic and storefront vacancy are not published as open data by a public agency.
National context, not Victoria: about 24% of violent incidents in Canada were reported to police in 2019 (Statistics Canada, General Social Survey on Canadians’ Safety). Source: Statistics Canada, Juristat, 2019 victimization, table 6.
Held by: Statistics Canada (local survey results), City of Victoria.
Cost of living
Rent in basement suites, rented condos and houses
Not measured yet · not yet open: proposal
The rent and vacancy surveys cover purpose-built apartment buildings only. Rents for other rented homes in Greater Victoria are not published as open data.
Held by: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and Statistics Canada.