I've already mentioned that Victoria is the sunniest place in B.C. and one of the sunniest cities in Canada. Well, here's some more proof of just how sunny it is here. I came across the following list of the sunniest months ever recorded in Canada. (This is based on Environment Canada measurements from all ten provinces, but doesn't include locations in the territories since some northern locations get 24 hour daylight in June and July.) Amazingly, while the statistics came from hundreds of weather sites across Canada, Victoria Gonzales or Victoria Airport accounted for 5 of the 8 sunniest months on record, including the top 4 sunniest months ever recorded in Canada:
| Station | Month | Hours | |
| 1 | Victoria Airport | July 2013 | 432.8 |
| 2 | Victoria Gonzales | July 1985 | 426.0 |
| 3 | Victoria Gonzales | July 1958 | 424.7 |
| 4 | Victoria Airport | July 1985 | 421.5 |
| 5 | Manyberries, AB | July 1985 | 414.0 |
| 6 | Cranbrook, BC | July 1985 | 413.0 |
| 7 | Medicine Hat, AB | July 1991 | 413.0 |
| 8 | Victoria Gonzales | July 1960 | 410.7 |
Sunshine measurements stopped at Victoria Gonzales in 1988. Gonzales typically gets about 6% more sunshine than the Victoria Airport, so if we had still been measuring sunshine at Gonzales in 2013, there is a very good chance that it would have topped the amount at the Victoria Airport, which currently holds the title of sunniest month on record in Canada. So if you lived in Victoria in July 2013, then you can rightly claim that you experienced the sunniest month ever recorded in Canada, outside the Arctic! If you've lived in Victoria since 1958, then you have experienced the top 3 sunniest months in Canadian history!
So why is Victoria so sunny in the summer? The main reason is the North Pacific High, which tends to park itself over the northeastern Pacific in the summer months, deflecting weather systems to the north and providing B.C.'s South Coast with generally sunny, dry weather. In Victoria, this is enhanced by the Olympic Mountain rain shadow effect. Victoria's location, surrounded by the cool water of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, also helps since it inhibits the formation of convective clouds (the type that form thunderstorms), resulting in exceptionally clear skies in the summer.
So why is Victoria so sunny in the summer? The main reason is the North Pacific High, which tends to park itself over the northeastern Pacific in the summer months, deflecting weather systems to the north and providing B.C.'s South Coast with generally sunny, dry weather. In Victoria, this is enhanced by the Olympic Mountain rain shadow effect. Victoria's location, surrounded by the cool water of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, also helps since it inhibits the formation of convective clouds (the type that form thunderstorms), resulting in exceptionally clear skies in the summer.
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