Sunday August 3, 2025 | SOOKE, BC
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Due to the timing of the former Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke MP in January, and the deadline for Canada Summer Jobs grant applications also in that month, the result was that at least two Sooke-based organizations did not receive their ‘usual’ federal grant funding for this summer.
Two key organizations that have been impacted and having to cut back on expenditures are the Sooke Fine Arts Show and the Sooke Region Museum.
The knock-on impact includes not just students who didn’t get summer jobs but other services and suppliers who have business relationships with the impacted organizations.
Indirectly, this shows the vulnerability and tight budgets of small organizations who assume they can rely on federal funding each year.
MPs are responsible to approve Canada Summer Jobs grants for their electoral area.
The Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke area includes Esquimalt, Colwood, View Royal, Sooke, the Juan de Fuca area out to Jordan River, and parts of Saanich.
Time between MPs:
NDP MP Randall Garrison resigned around year-end 2024 (speech in December, official resignation in early January) and the next MP for Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke (Liberal MP Stephanie McLean) was not in place until after the April 28, 2025 federal election.
It’s unknown at this time whether there is a fallback process to avoid situations like this in future.
The long-standing NDP stronghold on Vancouver Island may have led to some unintended complacency in this. Sooke Mayor Maja Tait was long in place to run as the NDP candidate in Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke (ESS) but the Liberals achieved a win in ESS.
Tait was announced as the NDP candidate in August 2023. There had been talk of Tait running in the fall of 2024 so (if she won) she could be in place for ESS in the House of Commons in January 2025.
Overall challenge for summer employment:
This summer a number of media reports have indicated a shortfall in summer employment for youth.
===== RELATED:
- Randall Garrison says farewell in the House of Commons (December 5, 2024)
- Maja Tait kickstarts her federal campaign in Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke (September 1, 2023)
- NEWS SECTIONS: JOBS & EMPLOYMENT | FEDERAL NDP | VANCOUVER ISLAND | SOOKE REGION