January 11, 2024 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Parks Canada
Parks Canada is responsible for protecting nationally significant examples of natural and cultural heritage and sharing the stories of these treasured places, including the histories, cultures, and contributions of Indigenous peoples. As cornerstones of Canada's tourism industry, Parks Canada administered places are committed to providing visitors with high-quality and meaningful visitor experiences and supporting tourism in communities across the country.
Today, Terry Sheehan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labour and Seniors and Member of Parliament for Sault Ste. Marie, on behalf of the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, announced $7.4 million in federal funding for critical infrastructure improvements to stabilize and conserve the historic Powerhouse building.
Funded through the $557 million in funding announced by the Government of Canada in late 2022, work to the Powerhouse building has begun to improve the long-term sustainability and function of the historic asset. The Powerhouse building allowed the Sault Ste. Marie Canal to be the first electrically operated lock in the world and is the reason for the designation as a national historic site. This heritage building is undergoing significant structural stabilization work to remediate its deterioration, largely through groundwater mitigation efforts and other improvements including conservation, rehabilitation, and construction initiatives. Work at the Powerhouse began in late December 2023 and is expected to continue for approximately two years.
Phase one of the Powerhouse project began in 2019, with $6.3 million in federal funding to begin investigative work, which included removing some existing infrastructure to thoroughly explore and understand the water infiltration issues, and to assess future needs to remediate this heritage building. With today's announcement, the total federal investment for the Powerhouse building is approximately $13.8 million.
Other significant infrastructure investments have been completed at the Sault Ste. Marie Canal National Historic Site over the past eight years. Federal funding has been provided for numerous projects at the site, including the restoration and protection of the site's Powerhouse building, Stores building and associated structures, repairs to the Superintendent's Residence, the design and repaving of the Sault Ste. Marie Canal National Historic Site's entry road and the creation and opening of a new Visitor Centre and exhibit space.
Parks Canada's wide-ranging infrastructure portfolio includes approximately 18,000 built assets such as highways, bridges, dams and other marine infrastructure, historic buildings and fortifications, water and wastewater treatment facilities, campgrounds, visitor centres and operational buildings. Since 2015, the federal infrastructure investment program has enabled Parks Canada to improve the condition of approximately 5,000 assets across the country. These upgrades help ensure public safety, quality and reliability in visitor offers, incorporate green technologies and climate resiliency, while connecting Canadians with nature and history.
