An Anonymous Donor Gives $1.25 Million To New Canadian Canoe Museum

An anonymous out-of-province donor who believes in the power of the canoe to connect Canadians has invested $1.25 million to support the Canadian Canoe Museum’s move to the water’s edge as part of its $65 million capital fundraising campaign.

This generous gift is the first of its magnitude to be received from a donor outside of Ontario, demonstrating the national scope and scale of the new museum project.

The Canadian Canoe Museum is moving from its 1960s-era former factory building to an 85,000 square-foot-facility to be built alongside the Peterborough Lift Lock on the Trent-Severn Waterway—both National Historic Sites—in Peterborough.

Rendering courtesy Canadian Canoe Museum

“We are grateful for this generous gift, and the donor’s appreciation for the national nature of the new museum project,” says Bill Morris, Capital Campaign Chair. “This donor recognizes the canoe as a national icon, and sees its potential and power to connect Canadians.”

“The new museum will not only allow us to attract more visitors from across the country, it will allow us to reach out from coast to coast to coast in new and different ways—it will be our new high-profile headquarters,” adds Morris.

The new museum, which will make accessible all 600 watercraft, thousands of small artifacts and an archive, is designed by an award-winning team of heneghan peng architects (Dublin, Ireland) with Kearns Mancini Architects (Toronto, Canada). The museum has partnered with world-class exhibition design firm GSM Project to create one-of-a-kind visitor experiences.

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