Incorporated as a District Municipality 19 August 1965, called District of North Saanich. Name confirmed 16 October 1978 on 92B/11.

Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office

There is some uncertainty over the origin of the word Saanich, which designated the local First Nation people, who today call themselves the Wsanec and comprise four separate bands: the Pauquachin, Tsartlip, Tsawout, and Tseycum. According to David Elliott, author of Saltwater People, a resource book used in local Natives studies programs, the word means "elevated" or "emerging" and refers to the appearance of Mount Newton (Lau'wel'new to the Wsanec) when viewed from offshore to the east. Thus the Wsanec are the "emerging" people. The rolling Saanich Peninsula, which includes the municipalities of Highlands, Saanich, Central Saanich and North Saanich, has much valuable agricultural land and was settled and farmed in the 1860s. Saanichton, formerly served both a railway and an interurban tramline, developed as an early agricultural centre. Today the peninsula is home to Victoria's airport, a major ferry terminal and some of the province's most luxurious homes and suburbs. Saanichton Bay was once locally known as Siwash Bay.

Source: Scott, Andrew; "The Encyclopedia of Raincoast Place Names"; Harbour Publishing, Madeira Park, 2009.