Lighthouses in Canada

The first lighthouse in Canada was established at Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia in 1734.

In 1970, the Canadian Coast Guard began systematically automating light stations and removing staff from them. Technological developments in lighthouse equipment had made it possible to operate the lights and to activate foghorns without immediate human attention. In British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador, public pressure effectively stopped the removal of lightkeepers in 1998. At remote locations, helicopters and vessels are used to resupply light stations and move lightkeepers, which contributes to higher maintenance costs.

Of the 50 staffed facilities in the two regions, 29 are located at remote sites that have no yearround road access. In Newfoundland and Labrador, 18 of the 23 staffed stations can be reached by road. Five are in remote locations: Puffin Island, Green Island (Trinity Bay), Green Island (Fortune Bay), Pass Island and Cape Race.

All 23 staffed light stations are equipped with solarized equipment. Most are powered by hydro, and several have wind turbines and solar power or a combination of the two. Three of the five remote sites have backup diesel power for the lightkeepers.

At the five remote sites, a rotational system based on 28-day shifts is used. Two people per shift work 28 continuous days and are replaced by two new keepers for the next 28-day period. The system requires four lightkeepers per station. Because of remoteness, relief keepers are required to replace absent keepers.

The total operational cost of the agency’s staffed lighthouse program is estimated to be $11.5 million in 2008. Newfoundland and Labrador accounts for $3.2 million of that amount. Source: “Seeing the Light: Report on Staffed Lighthouses in Newfoundland and Labrador and British Columbia”