Central Saanich is a district municipality in Greater Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Capital Regional District. It is located on the Saanich Peninsula, in the far south-east of Vancouver Island. It is the traditional territory of the W̱SÁNEĆ people. The district began as a farming community, and many hobby farms, along working farms and vineyards, still exist. In recent decades, the area has seen increasing residential, commercial, and industrial development, especially around the neighbourhoods of Brentwood Bay and Saanichton, which are occasionally referred to as separate communities.

The area's best-known tourist attractions are the Butchart Gardens, located in the Brentwood Bay area, Gowlland Tod Provincial Park, and Island View Beach.

The mayor of Central Saanich is former district councillor Ryan Windsor. Municipal councillors last elected in 2022 include Niall Paltiel, Sarah Riddell, Zeb King, Bob Thompson, Gord Newton, and Christopher Graham.

Neighbourhoods of Central Saanich:

• Brentwood Bay
• Saanichton
• Island View
• Keating
• Tanner Ridge (also Saanich)

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Central Saanich had a population of 17,385 living in 7,105 of its 7,621 total private dwellings, a change of 3.4% from its 2016 population of 16,814. With a land area of 41.2 km (15.9 sq mi), it had a population density of 422.0/km (1,092.9/sq mi) in 2021.

Historical census populations – Central Saanich

Year Pop. ±% 1951 2,069 —     1956 2,477 +19.7% 1961 2,952 +19.2% 1966 3,640 +23.3% 1971 5,136 +41.1% 1976 7,413 +44.3% 1981 9,890 +33.4% 1986 11,475 +16.0%	Year Pop. ±% 1991 13,684 +19.3% 1996 14,611 +6.8% 2001 15,348 +5.0% 2006 15,745 +2.6% 2011 15,936 +1.2% 2016 16,814 +5.5% 2021 17,385 +3.4%
Source: Statistics Canada

Panethnic groups in the District of Central Saanich (1996−2021)

Panethnic group	2021		2016		2011		2006		2001		1996
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
European	15,065	87.74%	14,745	89.53%	14,435	91.8%	14,585	93.46%	14,635	95.53%	13,635	94.36%
Indigenous	655	3.81%	660	4.01%	420	2.67%	215	1.38%	200	1.31%	85	0.59%
South Asian	490	2.85%	365	2.22%	225	1.43%	195	1.25%	140	0.91%	225	1.56%
East Asian	405	2.36%	355	2.16%	230	1.46%	310	1.99%	105	0.69%	210	1.45%
Southeast Asian	255	1.49%	175	1.06%	115	0.73%	205	1.31%	175	1.14%	100	0.69%
African	105	0.61%	80	0.49%	115	0.73%	35	0.22%	50	0.33%	105	0.73%
Latin American	90	0.52%	50	0.3%	65	0.41%	25	0.16%	10	0.07%	45	0.31%
Middle Eastern	35	0.2%	0	0%	60	0.38%	20	0.13%	10	0.07%	0	0%
Other/Multiracial	80	0.47%	20	0.12%	35	0.22%	25	0.16%	15	0.1%	35	0.24%
Total responses	17,170	98.76%	16,470	97.95%	15,725	98.68%	15,605	99.11%	15,320	99.82%	14,450	98.9%
Total population	17,385	100%	16,814	100%	15,936	100%	15,745	100%	15,348	100%	14,611	100%
Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses

According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Central Saanich included:

• Irreligion (10,150 persons or 59.1%)
• Christianity (6,365 persons or 37.1%)
• Sikhism (270 persons or 1.6%)
• Judaism (110 persons or 0.6%)
• Buddhism (70 persons or 0.4%)
• Islam (40 persons or 0.2%)
• Hinduism (15 persons or 0.1%)
• Other (150 persons or 0.9%)

The production of potatoes from Central Saanich, east of the West Saanich Road, was banned in 1982 due to infestation by the golden nematode. Potatoes from this region of Central Saanich are banned from entry into the United States.

• Jamie Benn, ice hockey winger for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL).
• Silken Laumann, Canadian champion rower.
• Wife and husband Lorna Crozier and Patrick Lane, both award-winning Canadian poets.
• Roy Sydney Baker-Falkner, grew up in Saanich in the 1920s and went on to be one of the top Second World War Naval Aviators from Canada and UK., and one of the few Canadians who took part in the Battle of Britain.

• Official website