Outdoors

Here are some of Canada’s 97 protected lighthouses

Published: June 28, 2018 Updated: October 10, 2022
Pointe-au-Père Lighthouse
The architectural style of the Pointe-au-Pere lighthouse is uniquely Canadian. The 108-foot-tall concrete pillar is supported by eight flying buttresses, a style that was relatively new when it was built in 1909. This lighthouse is the same one that received the SOS call in 1914, when the passenger ship The Empress of Ireland sunk, killing over 1,000 people. The lighthouse keeper immediately contacted rescuers, who managed to help save the lives of 465 people. [Photo credit: Dennis Jarvis]
Pointe-au-Père, Quebec

[Photo credit: Fisheries and Oceans Canada]
The second tallest lighthouse in Canada, the Point Amour lighthouse is also one of the most striking. The lighthouse itself is constructed of limestone and brick, surrounded by a quaint gable-roofed dwelling for the lighthouse keeper. There’s something undeniably romantic about this structure on L’Anse Amour.
Point Amour, Newfoundland and Labrador

Flowerpot Island Lighthouse
This lighthouse resides in one of Ontario’s most magical places, Flowerpot Island, where giant sea stacks tower above the water. The current lighthouse was built in 1969, though there have been lighthouses there in some form or other since the late 1800s. There have been several shipwrecks in the Georgian Bay over the centuries, and storms in the region can be fearsome. In fact, Bill Spears, whose father was lighthouse keeper on Flowerpot Island until 1937, said the storms called the walls of their dwelling to shake. “Oh I was scared to death,” Bill said. “Never heard thunderstorms as bad as at Flowerpot.” [Photo credit: lamontrealaiseblog.files.wordpress.com]
Flowerpot Island Lighthouse, Ontario

Covehead Harbour Lighthouse
The lighthouse at Covehead Harbour is exactly what most of us envision when we picture a historic lighthouse: picturesque and proud with its bright red trim, a perfect beacon for a ship lost at sea. This particular lighthouse is actually the second lighthouse to stand on this spot, built in 1975 to replace a lighthouse that had stood there since 1917. A plaque on the side of the current lighthouse tells the story of “The Gale of 1851,” a deadly storm. It ends: “Many men were buried here in Prince Edward Island. Their graves are a silent reminder of the changing moods of the sea.” [Photo credit: lighthousefriends.com]
Covehead Harbour, Prince Edward Island

Cape Tryon Lighthouse
On the red sandstone cliffs of Cape Tryon stands the Cape Tryon Lighthouse, perched high above the water. This lighthouse was built in 1962, replacing the original lighthouse that was there since 1905. Lucy Maud Montgomery in 1909 wrote about the spot: “Away to the westward six or seven miles the view was bounded by New London Point [now called Cape Tryon], a long, sharp tongue of land running far out to sea. In my childhood I never wearied of speculating what was on the other side of that point – a very realm of enchantment surely, I thought.” [Photo Credit: Parks Canada]
Cape Tryon Lighthouse, Prince Edward Island

Cape George Lighthouse
Sitting on a bluff above St. George’s Bay, this lighthouse stands about 360 feet above the water. The third lighthouse to grace this spot, this particular incarnation was built in 1968, a white concrete octagon that tapers gracefully upward. The first lighthouse on this spot was built in 1861 and sat atop a wooden house. The whole structure burned down in 1907, and was replaced by another a year later, which stood until the 60s. [Photo credit: Tourism Nova Scotia]
Cape George (Antigonish) Lighthouse, Nova Scotia

Active Pass Lighthouse
This 45-foot-tall lighthouse was built in 1969, when this sort of “apple core” design was very in style. It’s very minimal and functional as a beacon, though there are four other buildings around it to fulfill its other functions, including a lightkeeper’s residence that dates back to around 1940, a storage shed, and an engine and radio room. This lighthouse has been an important navigational landmark in one of western Canada’s busiest waterways. [Photo credit: David Stanley]
Active Pass Lighthouse, Mayne Island, BC

Ten years ago, the Government of Canada adopted the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act, which identifies and protects lighthouses with heritage value. In the past decade, 97 lighthouses have been given protected status, including two added earlier this month: the Bayswater Lighthouse in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia’s Isaacs Harbour Lighthouse.

Lighthouses have a rich history in Canada, where they’ve been used since the 1700s not only to guide ships safely into harbour, but to issue weather warnings, assist aerial navigation, and offer search-and-rescue services. However, in recent years, maintenance costs and automation, as well as improvements to navigational tools onboard ships, have led to a decrease in their use. There are currently 51 staffed lighthouses in Canada, while the government has identified about 500 that are no longer in use.

Despite their decline as navigational tools, Canadians recognize the importance of lighthouses as a part of our culture and heritage. These beautiful structures are steeped in history and are an essential part of sea life and lore. Thanks to the Lighthouse Protection Act, many of them will remain where they are, as symbols of a storied past, for years to come.

So, to celebrate the newest additions, here are just a few of the lighthouses that are protected under the act.

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