🩺 Colwood’s clinic has connected 2,355 patients

Hello, Westshore.

Colwood’s clinic has nearly doubled its patient count since 2025. Below: what it costs, how to join the registry, and a few good reasons to get out of the house this long weekend.

The Westshore team

Here's what we got for you today

A new walking and cycling route on Latoria

Colwood’s clinic: nearly twice as many patients as in 2025

Three forest gates near Sooke, plus the maps to reach them

Kids choose binoculars or bird songs at the lagoon

Markets and pumpkins for the long weekend

Community bulletin board

What's pinned on the board

Posters from across the Westshore. Tap any to read it full-size.

Around the neighbourhood

A new route along Latoria

The route between Veterans Memorial Parkway and the Beachlands is usable. Some finishing work remains, including signals and road markings. Colwood expects full completion before year-end.

📷 Photo · City of Colwood · see the post →

Family doctors

Colwood’s family-doctor experiment is growing

Nearly twice as many patients as in 2025. The next test is whether the clinic can cover its costs.

Colwood’s municipal clinic had four doctors and 2,355 patients as of September, up from 1,185 patients in 2025. The city’s Oct. 2 update puts some numbers behind an unusual arrangement: your family doctor can be a city employee.

Provincial payments for medical services go to the clinic. Colwood uses that revenue to pay doctors, including pensions and benefits, and handles the administration.

The city projects 7,500 patients in 2027 and 10,000 in 2028. Reaching those targets depends on recruitment and patient attachment. This year, the city expects to draw $307,200 from reserves. It projects a surplus and the start of reserve repayments in 2028.

For residents still waiting, the next step is the BC Health Connect Registry. The city says unattached Colwood residents should register so they can be connected as capacity becomes available.

Sources · City of Colwood

Around the Westshore

Voting starts tomorrow: your town’s dates. Advance voting begins Oct. 7 in all three towns: Colwood: Oct. 7 and 14, 8am to 8pm, at 3300 Wishart Rd. Langford: Oct. 7 and 14. The city’s page lists polling locations. View Royal: Oct. 7 and 13, 8am to 8pm, at Town Hall, 45 View Royal Ave. General voting is Oct. 17. Check your town’s link for ID requirements and general-voting locations.

Colwood kids get a lagoon ballot of their own

Public binoculars or a bird-song player at Esquimalt Lagoon? Young residents can vote for their pick while parents or caregivers vote on Oct. 7, 14, or 17. A ballot with a question kids can picture.

[City of Colwood]

A charging reminder for Fire Prevention Week

Colwood Fire Rescue says to use the manufacturer’s approved charger, charge on a hard, flat surface, and charge larger devices outside, away from exits. Stop using a battery that is swollen, unusually hot, smoking, or giving off a strange smell.

[Colwood Fire Rescue]

Sooke

Sooke Brewing says its co-owner is terminated. What does that mean?

The company’s Oct. 1 statement leaves his ownership stake unresolved.

Sooke Brewing Company said Oct. 1 that co-owner and head brewer John Adair had been terminated, effective immediately, after backlash over the “Show Me The Evidence” shirt he wore on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The company said it had contacted local First Nations leadership.

The statement did not explain whether termination affected Adair’s ownership stake or his operating role. CHEK reported that its attempt to reach him for comment was unsuccessful.

T’Sou-ke Nation elected councillor Debra Lazzar told CHEK the response should go beyond an apology, suggesting support for local Orange Shirt Day events or scholarships for Indigenous students.

For anyone sorting out the names: Sooke Oceanside Brewery is a separate business. It said it has no affiliation with Sooke Brewing Company.

Sources · CHEK News

Outside

Three gates open near Sooke. Here’s how to use them.

Weekend access to roughly 42,000 hectares, with a map to help you get there.

Mosaic opened three previously closed gates near Sooke on Oct. 3. The pilot follows a recreation survey with more than 7,600 responses, in which gates and access were the top concern.

When: Weekends and holiday Mondays, 6am to 6pm, through December. Who: Walk or cycle in. Licensed highway vehicles can enter too. ATV and dirt-bike access is restricted to members of the Sooke and Cowichan Valley ATV clubs. Where: Mosaic’s driving-route maps show how to reach each of the three gates from Sooke.

These are working forests. Gates can close at short notice for operations, wildfire risk, or safety. Check the live access map before leaving, follow posted signs, and plan to be out before the gates close.

Sources · Mosaic Forest Management · Mosaic driving-route maps

Coming up

Sooke Country Market’s final Saturday of the season

Oct. 10, 10am to 2pm, Woodside Farm, 7149 West Coast Rd. The market’s 2026 season ends this Saturday. Browse local vegetables, baking, art, and crafts before it wraps up.

Photo: Sooke Country Market

Step inside Colwood’s firefighters’ museum

Oct. 10, 10am to 2pm, Colwood Fire Hall, 3215 Metchosin Rd. The historical museum is holding an open house. A chance to see the equipment and stories behind the local fire service.

Photo: City of Colwood

PumpkinFest at Lohbrunner Farm

Oct. 10 and 11, 10am to 3pm, 1152 Lippincott Rd., Langford. The farm’s pumpkin patch runs Saturdays and Sundays throughout October. Admission is free; the farm stand and U-pick dahlias are also part of the day. Leashed, well-behaved dogs are welcome.

PumpkinFest promotional image: City of Langford

Goldstream Farmers Market at Danbrook Park

Oct. 10, 10am to 2pm, 744 Danbrook Ave., Langford. Another Saturday market option for anyone staying closer to home. The city’s October calendar lists this date and location.

Looking ahead: collage night in Sooke

Oct. 14, 4pm to 8pm, Cafe Vosino, 6715 Eustace Rd. The Do Good Collective hosts this free session for all ages and skill levels. Materials are provided, including magazines and scissors.

Before the long weekend, one question for you: where do you buy your pumpkins around the Westshore? Reply with a farm, a stand, or a neighbourhood favourite. We’d like to hear what you keep going back to. Thanks for reading The Westshore.

The Westshore team

The Westshore.

A twice-weekly, email-first local paper for the Westshore of Vancouver Island. Made out here. Yes, the traffic was bad.

Last light · First to know.

Sailing west, twice a week

The Westshore is produced on the territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples (the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations) and the W̱SÁNEĆ peoples, whose relationship with this land continues to this day.

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