Summary
This article examines municipal amalgamation in Greater Victoria with a focus on its long-term benefits for service delivery, public safety, and social well-being. While there will be transitional challenges such as labour integration, governance change, and implementation costs, it appears that these are manageable and temporary when weighed against the long term advantages of regional coordination. In particular, the article highlights how aligning policing, traffic, zoning, social services, emergency response, and public health under a unified municipal structure can meaningfully improve outcomes for residents across the region. With appropriate legal oversight, public engagement, and phased implementation, amalgamation represents a practical and forward-looking strategy to strengthen governance and enhance the quality of life in Greater Victoria.
Legal and Public-Service Considerations for an Integrated Urban Region
Greater Victoria is in fact a single urban region in daily life, yet it remains governed by a fragmented municipal structure of thirteen local governments, a Capital Regional District and multiple special-purpose bodies. This model reflects a historical development but it increasingly sits at odds with modern service demands, population mobility, and region-wide challenges.
Fragmentation inevitably creates inefficiencies, inconsistencies, and barriers to coordination. This is apparent in policing, transportation, fire protection, social services, public health, and crime prevention. As pressures on local governments grow, the question is not whether regional integration is desirable, but whether existing governments are capable of delivering the level of coordination the region now requires.
From the perspective of Stevenson Luchies & Legh, municipal amalgamation is best understood as a pragmatic governance solution rather than an ideological position. Properly designed and legally implemented, amalgamation offers a durable framework for improving service delivery, strengthening accountability, and ensuring long-term institutional resilience.
Policing: Enabling Regional Consistency and Strategic Capacity
Policing in Greater Victoria is divided among multiple municipal police departments and the RCMP. Although cooperation exists, fragmentation creates structural limits on efficiency, accountability, and strategic deployment.
Amalgamation would allow for a unified police department capable of delivering:
- Region-wide security and accountability through a single police board
- Streamlined command structures and operational consistency
- Enhanced intelligence sharing and investigative continuity
- Flexible deployment aligned with evolving crime patterns
From a legal standpoint, amalgamation also enables standardized policies related to oversight, discipline, use of force, and public complaints. It reduces duplication and increases the utilization of the assets and people we have to protect us.
While labour integration requires careful planning, these challenges are well understood within public-sector transitions and are procedural rather than prohibitive. Over time, the benefits of scale, consistency, and coordination substantially outweigh short-term complexity.
Fragmentation inevitably creates inefficiencies, inconsistencies, and barriers to coordination.
From a legal standpoint, amalgamation also enables standardized policies related to oversight, discipline, use of force, and public complaints.
Fire and Emergency Services: Building Regional Resilience
Fire and emergency services across Greater Victoria are similarly decentralized, with multiple departments operating in close proximity under different administrative and operational standards.
A unified regional fire service would significantly strengthen emergency preparedness by enabling:
- Integrated incident command and emergency planning
- Standardized training and occupational health and safety practices
- Strategic allocation of specialized equipment and expertise
- Greater capacity to respond to large-scale emergencies, including climate and earthquake related events
Beyond operational gains, amalgamation simplifies governance and accountability, reducing the risk of jurisdictional confusion during critical incidents—when clarity and coordination matter most.
Health System Capacity and Public Health Alignment
Although health care delivery remains primarily a provincial responsibility, municipal decisions significantly influence public health outcomes. Land use planning, housing policy, bylaws, emergency response, and community services all intersect with health system capacity.
Municipal fragmentation complicates coordination with Island Health and other provincial agencies. Amalgamation would create a single, consistent municipal partner capable of:
- Aligning bylaws and enforcement with public health objectives
- Supporting harm reduction and mental health outreach consistently
- Integrating emergency and disaster planning with hospitals and ambulance services
- Advancing housing and land use strategies that support health infrastructure
From a legal and administrative perspective, consolidation improves policy alignment, reduces duplication, and strengthens accountability, particularly during public health emergencies.
Crime Prevention Through Integrated Governance
A compelling case for amalgamation lies in crime prevention. Effective community safety increasingly depends on coordinated action across policing, social services, housing, public health, and bylaw enforcement.
A unified municipal structure enables:
- Integrated community safety strategies
- Coordinated responses to repeat calls for service
- Expanded diversion and crisis response programs
- Reduced reliance on reactive enforcement
By aligning enforcement with social supports, amalgamation allows municipalities to address root causes rather than symptoms and seek improved outcomes while managing
Managing Risk Through Process and Transparency
Amalgamation carries transitional risks, including upfront costs, labour integration, governance change, and public concern about local representation. These risks are real but manageable.
What determines success is not whether challenges exist, but how they are addressed. Transparent planning, phased implementation, meaningful public engagement, and rigorous legal oversight are essential to ensuring that amalgamation delivers lasting public benefit.
The Role of Legal Counsel
Legal counsel is central to a successful amalgamation process. This includes guidance on statutory compliance, governance restructuring, labour relations, asset and liability management, procurement, and dispute resolution.
When done well, amalgamation ultimately reduces legal complexity by simplifying governance structures and clarifying accountability. Complexity, in this context, should be viewed as a transitional condition—not a reason to preserve outdated systems.
Conclusion
Municipal amalgamation in Greater Victoria is not a cure-all, but it represents a compelling and responsible response to the region’s evolving needs. The benefits from stronger policing, enhanced emergency response, more equitable social services, improved public health coordination, and more effective crime prevention will be structural and long-term.
The central question is whether the current fragmented system is adequate for the future.
Thoughtful, evidence-based, and legally sound amalgamation offers a clear path toward a more coordinated, resilient, and effective Greater Victoria. A City better equipped to improve the lives of all who live and work in the region.
In 2026, the citizens of Saanich and Victoria will have an opportunity to vote in a referendum on amalgamating their two Cities. This is a positive first step to improve the entire region.
