Honourable senators, the Canadian Canoe Museum is located on the traditional territory of the Williams Treaties First Nations in Peterborough, Ontario. Since 1997, it has been the home of the world’s largest and most significant collection of canoes, kayaks and paddled watercraft.

In 2013, the museum was declared a cultural asset of national significance by the Senate of Canada via a motion in this chamber moved by the Honourable Linda Frum, who stated:

Honourable senators, the Canadian Canoe Museum pays homage to one of the great wonders of our country. It celebrates one of the most potent symbols of our collective national identity. . . .

Her Senate colleagues concurred, with enthusiasm.

This weekend, the museum celebrates an exciting new chapter in its history with the opening of a fabulous new museum building. The origin of the canoe and its prolific usage can be traced to First Nations, Métis and Inuit across Turtle Island who designed and built these ingenious watercraft adapted to their diverse environments. For Indigenous peoples, the canoe is a symbol of resilience, resurgence and nationhood.

The oldest type of canoe is thought to be the dugout, which is made by hollowing out a single log and generally associated with the First Nations of the Pacific Northwest. In most parts of the country, the birchbark canoe, closely associated with the Algonquin of the Eastern Woodlands, became the dominant model and the main means of transportation in the development of the fur trade. The canoe was adopted by voyageurs, explorers, traders, settlers, artists, athletes and cottagers, who embraced it in its original form.

The museum itself was founded by Kirk Wipper, who began collecting canoes in the late 1950s in eastern Ontario after being gifted a dugout canoe. He spent decades finding a place for his growing collection. Eventually, he was approached by people from nearby Peterborough, the historic site of industrial canoe manufacturing in Canada. The museum was established there, in an Outboard Marine Corporation building, in 1997.

With a collection exceeding 600 canoes and other watercraft, the old museum outgrew its premises. It had no space for exhibits, storage, education, workshops or events — and wasn’t even on the water. This beautiful new museum has all that and more. It is shaped like a canoe, features two levels and uses natural and locally sourced elements. Its construction and ongoing care are informed by Indigenous involvement.

It is a big place. The five-acre site provides stunning views of Little Lake and a connection to the Trans Canada Trail, and is surrounded by public parks. The museum will be open to visitors next week, as of May 13. I encourage all my Senate colleagues and their families and friends to visit. It’s not just a museum; it’s a journey through our collective history, and it’s just down the road in that direction. Bring your paddles. I hope to see you there.