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The Canadian Canoe Museum, located on the Traditional Territory of the Williams Treaties First Nations in Peterborough, Ontario, has stewarded, for the last 25 years, the world’s largest and most significant collection of canoes, kayaks, and paddled watercraft. More than 600 in number, these watercraft and their stories have a pivotal role in understanding our past and our collective future.
As part of the Museum’s responsibility for this cultural asset of national significance (Senate of Canada, 2013), we have built a new 65,000-square-foot home that aspires to be as innovative as the canoe itself.
Named one of the Best Cultural Spots on National Geographic’s Best of the World 2024, the brand’s annual guide of the most exciting, meaningful, and one-of-a-kind travel experiences for 2024!
Recent News Releases & Media Kits
About The Canadian Canoe Museum
The new 65,000-square-foot museum and lakefront campus located on the Trent-Severn Waterway will not only care for the watercraft and share their stories, it will enable visitors and youth to experience the transformative nature of the canoe and enjoy the outdoors firsthand.
The new facility on Little Lake (at 2077 Ashburnham Drive) will inspire the community and visitors to learn about Canada’s collective history and build connections to land, water and one another – all through the unique lens of the iconic canoe. Visitors will be able to walk through the front doors and paddle out the back!
The new museum is made possible, in part, by The Canadian Canoe Museum’s lead donor and government partners, including the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), the Weston Family Foundation, the City of Peterborough, Peterborough County, and the Province of Ontario.
Quick facts about the new museum
- An inspiring two-storey, 65,000-square-foot, purpose-driven facility
- A dramatic 20,000-square-foot Exhibition Hall featuring a brand-new suite of exhibits
- An integrated Collection Hall allowing for the display of 100% of the Museum’s watercraft in a Class “A” controlled museum environment
- A Lakefront Events & Education Centre with a sweeping view of the lake
- An accessible Library & Research Room with Class “A” archival storage
- An authentic Artisan Studio and Canoe-Building Studio to facilitate hands-on learning for youth and adults alike
- The Museum has hired Indigenous Peoples from 6 different communities to support language-related projects that will create content for new exhibits
- Grand opening celebrations will be held the weekend of May 11th, 2024. The new museum will open to the world starting May 13, 2024.
Media Inquiries
For further information:
Rachelia Giardino
Marketing and Communications Manager
[email protected]
New Museum Photos
The Atrium
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Visitors enjoy coffee, lunch, and snacks near the Silver Bean Cafe in the Atrium. Canoes hang overhead and the Visitor Service Desk is to the right. Credit: Justen Soule.
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A canoe hangs near the inner layer of the double hydrological map windows which welcome visitors as they step through the front door.
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Natural elements are highlighted in the Atrium through the use of mass timber and wood panelling.
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Items line the shelves and racks of the Canadian Canoe Museum store.
Download High-Quality ImageThe Collection Hall
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Canoes line the shelves of the Collection Hall, each on a custom built rack. Credit: Justen Soule.
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Canoes line the shelves of the Collection Hall, each on a custom built rack. Credit: Justen Soule.
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Canoes line the shelves of the Collection Hall, each on a custom built rack.
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Canoes line the shelves of the Collection Hall, each on a custom built rack.
Download High-Quality ImageThe Exhibition Hall
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The Canoe Swirl in the ‘Headwaters’ exhibit that welcomes visitors arriving to the Exhibition Hall. Credit: Justen Soule.
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From the centre of the Exhibition Hall, visitors can see the Canoe Swirl in the ‘Headwaters’ exhibit as well as several other Exhibit zones. Credit: Justen Soule.
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The Gathering Room
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The events room overlooking the Lakefront Campus and Little Lake that hosts corporate and community events, weddings, and conferences.
Download High-Quality ImageThe Lakefront Campus
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An aerial photo of The Canadian Canoe Museum and its campus on Ashburnham Drive, backing onto Little Lake. Credit: Justen Soule.
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An aerial photo of the back of The Canadian Canoe Museum and the Lakefront Campus and Canoe House.
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One of two new lakefront docks that enable paddling lessons, tours, rentals and more.
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The Canadian Canoe Museum’s new trilingual logo on the side of the Canoe House.
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An aerial shot of various canoes and a kayak padding toward The Canadian Canoe Museum’s docks. Photo by Justen Soule.
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Graphics Credit: Unity Design Studio, courtesy of The Canadian Canoe Museum.
Aerial Exterior of New Museum & Lakefront Campus
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A major cultural and recreational destination between Toronto and Ottawa, the new museum will be located on the waterfront of Little Lake, in the heart of Peterborough, Ontario (2077 Ashburnham Drive).
The five-acre site of the new museum will provide stunning west-facing views of Little Lake, a connection to the Trans Canada Trail and will be surrounded by public parks. It will become a vibrant community space for outdoor activities and the Museum’s canoeing and outdoor programs and events.
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Exterior
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The Canadian Canoe Museum’s unique curved façade and use of weathered steel make for an impressive view from the street.
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The Canadian Canoe Museum makes an impression from the streetside. Its curving façade gently lifts to reveal the mass timber elements through large expanses of glazing. The building is clad in weathered steel panels, giving a warm quality to the Museum that suits its natural lakefront setting. The building’s impressive scale and unique design reinforce its status as a nationally significant museum.
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Atrium South
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From the entrance of the Museum looking south, visitors experience the impressive, curved façade of the building and get a glimpse of the large fireplace in the café lounge.
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The Museum’s interior is a thoughtful blend of contemporary design and refined cottage sensibilities. The curved façade provides ample daylight into the space, and the swooping veil element adds interest and dynamism to the public atrium. The Museum features a large indoor/outdoor fireplace directly off the public café – the perfect spot to relax with a mug of hot chocolate after touring the Museum’s impressive world-class collection.
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Atrium North
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The public atrium of the Canadian Canoe Museum features soaring double-high ceilings and beautiful exposed mass timber elements as well as views into the Museum’s Collection Centre.
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The entrance of the Canadian Canoe Museum features a soaring double-height atrium space with exposed mass timber elements and a beautiful wood ceiling. The atrium is the heart of the public space and contains the Museum’s reception area, retail zone, elevator, and the feature stairs to the exhibition hall on the second floor. From the atrium, the public is also offered access to the Artisan workshop to witness the art of canoe-making and restoration first-hand, as well as into the Museum’s collection storage center, where hundreds of watercraft rest on racking awaiting future exhibition.
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Collection Hall
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The Collection Hall will house the majority of the collection, 500 canoes, kayaks, and paddled watercraft, and will enable the display of 100 per cent of the Museum’s collection onsite.
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The integrated Collection Hall will be one of the most striking and impressive features of the new purpose-built facility. It will allow for the display of 100 per cent of the Museum’s watercraft in a Class “A” controlled museum environment, an artifact conservation standard. The Collection Hall will offer a signature experience and provide resources to all areas of the Museum, including its award-winning education and virtual learning programs and its outreach and public engagement initiatives. It will also provide a wealth of material for researchers and artisans working to preserve the art of canoe building and serve as inspiration for future Museum exhibitions. Visitors will be able to see into the Collection Hall from the main staircase.
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Exhibition Hall
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A major cultural and recreational destination between Toronto and Ottawa, the new museum will be located on the waterfront of Little Lake, in the heart of Peterborough, Ontario (2077 Ashburnham Drive).
The five-acre site of the new museum will provide stunning west-facing views of Little Lake, a connection to the Trans Canada Trail and will be surrounded by public parks. It will become a vibrant community space for outdoor activities and the Museum’s canoeing and outdoor programs and events.
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Lakeview Terrace
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The public terrace directly off the Museum’s café offers scenic lakefront views and a large fireplace for the public to enjoy.
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Directly off the Museum’s café is a covered outdoor terrace where visitors can enjoy a beverage and a snack while taking in lakefront views. The terrace is also accessible from the Trans-Canada Trail to the west of the building, allowing the public to stop by for refreshments as they walk the local network of trails. This space features a large fireplace and comfortable seating, making it the perfect spot to relax as the sun sets over Little Lake.
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Lakefront Campus
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After learning about the enduring significance of the canoe, visitors to the new museum will have the opportunity to experience the magic of the canoe and outdoors firsthand on the Lakefront Campus.
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The new 65,000 square-foot museum and 5.3-acre Lakefront Campus on the Trent-Severn Waterway will not only care for the watercraft and chronicle their history, but it will also enable visitors to experience the magic of the canoe and the outdoors firsthand. The Lakefront Campus will feature a Gathering Circle, an accessible boardwalk to the Trans Canada Trail and waterfront, a Canoe House, a dock for voyageur canoe tours, a large dock for teaching and canoe and kayak rentals, an accessible canoe and kayak launch, and a walk-in canoe launch.
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New Museum & Lakefront Campus Sitemap
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The future home of The Canadian Canoe Museum will invite visitors to walk in the front door of the Museum and paddle out the back with an array of outdoor programming on its new Lakefront Campus. Illustration by Basterfield & Associates Ltd.
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A conceptual illustration of the Lakefront Campus and Gathering Circle. The new 65,000 square-foot museum and 5.3-acre Lakefront Campus on the Trent-Severn Waterway will not only care for the watercraft and chronicle their history, but it will also enable visitors to experience the magic of the canoe and the outdoors firsthand. The Lakefront Campus will feature a Gathering Circle, an accessible boardwalk to the Trans Canada Trail and waterfront, a Canoe House, a dock for voyageur canoe tours, a large dock for teaching and canoe and kayak rentals, an accessible canoe and kayak launch, and a walk-in canoe launch. Illustration by Basterfield & Associates Ltd.
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