The Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority (HOPA) plans to start revamping the area below the Burlington Skyway later this year. Photo credit: Facebook/HOPA
Fisherman’s Pier – the area surrounding the Burlington Canal Lift Bridge north of the Skyway – will soon look a little bit different.
On Friday, January 28, it was announced that possession of the historic Burlington Canal Main Lighthouse and keeper’s cottage would change hands from the federal government to the locally administered Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority (HOPA). In turn, HOPA announced that it will be moving the 17-metre limestone lighthouse slightly south away from the Burlington Canal Lift Bridge and restoring it to facilitate public access to the inside of the historic structure as a tourist attraction. The lighthouse was built in 1857.
HOPA hopes that the relocation and restoration will start by the end of 2022. The $1 million relocation cost will be shared by HOPA and the federal and municipal governments. The Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans is contributing $275,000.
It’s not the first time that the Fisherman’s Pier area will be used a tourist attraction. The site used to hold a lakefront amusement park.
It’s also not the first time that Fisherman’s Pier has been in the news. The pier dominated local news cycles many times in late 2020 and early 2021, largely because Transport Canada, which manages the northern-most piers that extend into Lake Ontario, was planning to permanently close pedestrian access. But the community fought back, and the northern-most piers remain open for the time being (though, seasonally closed for winter due to hazardous conditions).
The lighthouse itself was in the news back in December 2021 when federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault announced its designation under Canada’s Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act. At the time, Guilbeault said that the Burlington Canal Lighthouse and Canada’s other heritage lighthouses are “important tourism attractions that contribute to local economies.”
As HOPA public affairs director Larissa Fenn explained to The Hamilton Independent, the plans for the lighthouse are just the beginning of a broader vision to “kick off the redevelopment of the pier.”
In September 2019, HOPA launched consultations seeking input from the public about how to transform the area. Since its amusement park days, the area near the lift bridge has become a wasteland of overgrown weeds and cracked pavement.
In July 2020, HOPA released the results of the public consultations in a document called the “Fisherman’s Pier District Concept Plan.” The concept plan includes the possibility of an interpretive centre/museum, coloured light illumination of the Burlington Skyway, revamp of the entire pier, an improved boat launch area, and an ecopark.
Hamiltonian Matt Francis grew up in the beach community and founded the group “Save Our Pier” when the Government of Canada threatened to close access to the northernmost piers. He said that the community “has been pushing for revitalization of the lighthouse for decades”, so residents are “very excited.”
“The lighthouse will become a major attraction that people will come to visit from all across the globe,” said Francis.
Francis noted that he is “cautiously optimistic” about the rest of the ambitious pier revitalization plan released by HOPA, saying that it might end up being more “talking than action.”
The reality is that the implementation of the full plan for an interpretive centre, park, and other attractions would take several years and strongly relies on more community and governmental partnership. Nevertheless, the soon-to-come movement and restoration of the Burlington Canal Main Lighthouse is a sign that at least a partly revitalized pier is not that far off.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
