On Saturday (August 5), The Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough will be giving a warm welcome to the Canadian Voyageur Brigade Society, a brigade of paddlers who are travelling 250 kilometres down the Trent-Severn Waterway.
Last week, the brigade, made up of paddlers from across Canada, assembled in Penetanguishene on Georgian Bay. After brief training, the crew began their long paddle on July 29, entering the Trent-Severn Waterway at Port Severn in Voyageur canoes. These are large canoes similar to those used by 18th and 19th century French Canadian settlers as well as Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabeg, and Métis peoples — known as voyageurs — primarily for fur trading.
The 250-kilometre journey is taking the brigade through lakes, canals, 24 lift locks, and The Big Chute before they arrive in Peterborough on Saturday on the shores of Little Lake at the site of The Canadian Canoe Museum’s new home currently under construction.
There, the paddlers will be greeted by the Canadian Canoe Museum’s executive director Carolyn Hyslop and curator Jeremy Ward. Together, they will explore the new waterfront campus, share the vision for the new campus, and swap paddling stories over a shared meal.
“We are incredibly honoured and excited that people want to travel from all over Canada to paddle the Trent Severn Waterway in celebration of The Canadian Canoe Museum,” explains The Canadian Canoe Museum’s program manager Peter Vooy. “This is just a glimpse into the enthusiasm there is for the new museum and how we are inspiring Canada by canoe.”
The brigade is made up of 12 Voyageur canoes with paddlers representing people from coast to coast to coast, inclusive to age and region, with invitation to the Chippewas of Rama and Georgina Island First Nations, and the First Nations of Beausoleil, Curve Lake, Hiawatha, and Alderville to participate.
The Canadian Voyageur Brigade Society is an Alberta-based non-profit organization that evolved from the David Thompson Brigade and works to ensure that the enjoyment of paddling big canoes is passed through generations. Born in 1770, Thompson was a fur trader, explorer, and surveyor who explored and surveyed more than four million square kilometres of North America wilderness.
Prior to their landing in Peterborough, the Voyageur Brigade will be stopping in Fenelon Falls for lunch on August 1, before spending the night and having the following day off in Bobcaygeon.
Visitors are invited to Garnet Graham Beach Park to greet them upon arrival at approximately 11:30 a.m., with the opportunity to be taken out in one of the canoes.
After departing from Beavermead Park in Peterborough on the morning on August 6, the crew will paddle on to Hiawatha First Nation as the final leg of the voyage, arriving at the beach at around 1 p.m. Brigade participants and Hiawatha First Nation citizens are invited to the Gathering Space at around 1:30 p.m. for a community barbeque.
“The Canadian Voyageur Brigade Society is upholding a long-held tradition of building community through shared paddling expeditions,” explains Vooy.
“We hope that those involved in the voyage take away a greater appreciation for our waterways, the canoe, and how it can connect us not only to the land and water but one another — maybe new friendships will be forged.”
This story has been updated to include Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabeg, and Métis peoples as voyageurs.
