The Happy Camper: Canadian Canoe Museum Grand Opening
I was honoured to be invited for the Grand Opening of the new Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough, Ontario on May 11, 2024. It’s an amazing place, full of Canadian culture.
The museum build had some hiccups along the way, similar to a long and gruelling portage. The new building was to replace the aging museum that was once a factory for the former Outboard Marine Corporation. The initial spot chosen for the new building site—directly beside the Lift lock along the Trent Severn—had issues with cancer-causing agents contaminating the soil, forcing the staff and volunteers to look for an alternative site. They did, right on the lakeshore in downtown Peterborough. Construction began in October 2021. However, the Covid-19 pandemic heavily impacted the construction industry and supply chains, creating repeated delays.
The new Canadian Canoe Museum opened its doors to the public two-and-a-half years later.
Was it worth the wait? Absolutely!
The building measures 65,000 square feet (6,038 square metres) over two storeys on a five-acre property on the shores of Little Lake. It houses the world’s largest—over 600—collection of canoes, kayaks, paddles and other paddling craft.
I first walked through the massive storage area, gawking at an incredible assortment of birchbark canoes, dugout canoes, old-school Grumman canoes, skin-on-frame kayaks, racing canoes and countless cedar canvas canoes manufactured by companies with names like Herald, Peterborough, Chestnut, Lakefield and Canadian.
It was absolutely mind-boggling.
It was the upper level that was the true masterpiece, however. A 20,000 square foot (1,858 square metre) exhibit hall displayed historic canoes and kayaks, from traditional voyageur canoes to watercraft used by such paddlers as Gordon Lightfoot, Bill Mason, George Douglas and Dan Starkell. There was even a picture of Explore Magazine’s popular contributor, Frank Wolf, decorating one of the inner walls. That was cool!
The big bonus of the day was that I was able to paddle to the museum site. Elaborate floating docks were constructed along the shoreline of Little Lake to accommodate upcoming on-water and outdoor education programming—including one from yours truly.
The Canadian Canoe Museum has come a long way since Professor Kirk Wipper donated his immense watercraft collection in 1994 to the organization that would become what it is today. The initial museum opened its doors in 1997—a big step from Camp Kandalore and that old chicken barn Kirk had housed them prior.
A good mix of dignitaries were on hand to give speeches, including Curve Lake First Nation Chief Keith Knott, Hiawatha First Nation Chief Laurie Car and Métis Nation of Ontario president Margaret Froh.
Ontario’s Lieutenant Governor Edith Dumont was the first to give thanks and acknowledgement to the artistry and ingenuity of the Indigenous peoples who invented the canoe and used it to explore and navigate the waterways they have stewarded throughout their history.
“This museum will make it abundantly clear that, when it comes to the water and the environment, we are all in the same boat,” Dumont added. “Each one of the crafts and artifacts inside this giant canoe has its own story, and it’s wonderful that some of the boats are being made available for people to take out on the water so that the canoe’s stories and our own will be woven together.”
Make sure to check the museum out. Be warned, you’ll probably need a full day to soak it all in.
Great article as always, Mr. Callan! I’d heard it was big, but had no idea it is 65000 square feet!
We’re hoping to get a visit in during Lock & Paddle Day.
Cheers
Tim