The place file / Gulf Islands
Salt Spring
Island
It has voted twice against becoming a town.
So there are 11,600 people, three ferry terminals and no mayor.
Salty Seniors place guide
Could I live here?The draw
Make it, bake it or grow it
The catch
Every trip off the island is a ferry
The question
Is there water for one more house?
An island with its own money
Salt Spring has 11,600 people and no mayor. It has been asked twice whether it would like to become a municipality, in 2002 and in 2017, and both times it said no. The second vote was 3,930 to 2,419.
So the island is run by one regional director, two trustees of the Islands Trust, a local commission elected in 2023 and a long list of boards. Whether this works depends on who you ask and what they wanted built.
It prints money. Salt Spring Dollars have been in circulation since 2001 and are worth exactly one Canadian dollar each, though fewer people use them than once did.
The Saturday Market in Ganges has one rule. You have to make it, bake it or grow it yourself.
When the largest water district lifted its ten-year ban on new connections, the first few weeks brought two applications.
The name comes from 14 briny springs at the north end. The Hudson’s Bay Company had hopes of getting salt out of them. The island has since found other ways to make a living.
Hitchhiking is normal enough that the island has more than 40 official places to do it. They are called Car Stops.
What stays open year-round?
Nearly all of it. About 11,600 people live here full time, and Ganges has two supermarkets, a hospital, a library and a small cinema. The Saturday Market is the seasonal part. It runs from the first Saturday in April to the last one in October, and everything sold there has to be made, baked or grown on the island.
What will winter ask of you?
Rain gear and a backup plan for the power. It is mild and wet and rarely snows, but the island is covered in tall trees and the lines run under them. After a windstorm in December 2018 some houses were dark for about ten days. People keep a woodstove. Summer has the opposite problem, which is drought.
How close is the care you need?
Lady Minto Hospital is in Ganges, with a new emergency department that opened in 2024. It is a small hospital and does the ordinary well. Anything major goes to Victoria, by ferry or by air. Find out how long that takes from the end of the island you are thinking of living on.
Could you live without a car?
In Ganges, possibly. The island is 27 km long and hilly, and the roads are narrow. There is a small bus service. There are also the Car Stops, signed places where you stand and somebody gives you a lift. It works, which says something about the place.
What does a house cost?
The typical single-family house was assessed at $961,000 in 2026. Then ask about water. The island’s largest water district refused new connections for about ten years from 2014, and many houses outside it rely on wells and rainwater tanks. Ask for the well report before you ask about the view.
How do you get there?
By one of three ferries. Fulford Harbour to Swartz Bay, near Victoria, takes 35 minutes. Vesuvius to Crofton, farther up Vancouver Island, takes 20. Long Harbour connects to Tsawwassen and Vancouver, slowly. Float planes also fly from Ganges Harbour to Vancouver, for the days you can’t face the ferry.
