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In the city of Peterborough, Ontario, they’re hard at work building a major new building on the Otonabee River. When finished next year, it will house the relocated, expanded Canadian Canoe Museum. We’re going to write about the brand new project in our next issue, but though a little preview was in order.
The Canadian Canoe Museum, located on the Traditional Territory of the Williams Treaties First Nations, in Peterborough, Ontario, has stewarded, for the last 20 years, the world’s largest collection of canoes, kayaks and paddled watercraft. More than 600 in number, the watercraft and their stories have a pivotal role to play in understanding our past and, our collective future. As part of our responsibility for this one-of-a-kind collection, we are building it a new home along the water’s edge.
In 2013, the Senate declared The Canadian Canoe Museum and its collection a cultural asset of national significance.
The Canadian Canoe Museum’s (CCM) new museum capital campaign was boosted with a $250,000 gift from a local family. The gift celebrates the legacy of the late Shelagh Grant, a 25-year volunteer and member, and the Grant family’s involvement with the Museum since its inception. The Grant family’s gift will be recognized in the Loft of the new museum, a central community gathering space on the second floor just outside the Knowledge and Research Centre in the Atrium. Grant, who passed away in 2020, is remembered fondly for her love of the North and passion for canoeing. Shelagh was an internationally acclaimed expert, historian and author on the Arctic, and with her husband Jon, she paddled many of Canada’s northern rivers together.
“The Grant family honours Shelagh Grant’s love of the North, its land, peoples, rivers, and rapids with this $250,000 gift. Shelagh’s vision and committee work helped to guide The Canadian Canoe Museum in its early stages,” says her husband, Jon Grant. “This gift recognizes the canoe as a unifying legacy, from the First People’s travel to today’s recreation, which is an important part of our rich and unique heritage.”
The museum will provide a vastly expanded exhibit and activity program we’ll explore in detail next issue.
In the 1980s, through her work as an adjunct professor of Canadian Studies at Trent University, Shelagh became part of an instrumental Advisory Committee that helped establish the CCM and bring Kirk Wipper’s Kanawa canoe collection to Peterborough.
Over the years, Shelagh and her husband Jon Grant, former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Quaker Oats Company of Canada Ltd., continued to support the CCM, with Jon also serving on the Museum’s Board of Directors.
“Canadians from coast-to-coast-to-coast are engaged and giving to the campaign — but to see such strong local support here in our community is heartening. Each donation, from $25 to significant gifts like the Grant family’s, is helping to build a new cultural destination on the waterfront that will house our world-class collection and award-winning educational programs all in one place. These donations allow us to continue inspiring Canada by canoe — from right here in Peterborough,” shares Kevin Malone, Campaign Chair.
The CCM has raised 93 percent of the $40 million capital costs for the new museum, which is scheduled to open next summer. The community is invited to donate to the new museum or to support the move of more than 600 canoes and kayaks, and small artefacts.
The Canadian Canoe Museum
With a world-class collection as a catalyst, The Canadian Canoe Museum inspires connection, curiosity and new understanding. In partnership with individuals, groups and communities — locally, provincially and nationally — we work to experience and explore all that our collection can inspire. This sees students opening their minds in our galleries; community members connecting through artisanry; people of all ages getting on the water and learning to paddle; and exhibitions and events that spark conversation and collaboration.
- The Canadian Canoe Museum has more than 600 canoes, kayaks, and paddled watercraft in its collection.
- More than 100 canoes and kayaks are on display in the galleries.
- In 2013, the Senate of Canada declared The Canadian Canoe Museum and its collection a cultural asset of national significance.
About the New Museum:
The Canadian Canoe Museum is creating a new cultural destination that will inspire visitors to learn about Canada’s collective history and reinforce our connections to land, water and one another – all through the unique lens of the iconic canoe. Located on a five-acre site at the Little Lake waterfront in Peterborough, the Museum’s new home is expected to open in the summer of 2023.
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