The heavy weather that has surrounded the SS Keewatin’s recent stay in Port McNicoll is nearing an end.
The Marine Museum of the Great Lakes in Kingston announced Friday it has acquired the ship from Skyline Investments Inc., bringing to an end a saga that has captured the hearts and minds of many North Simcoe residents.
The Keewatin will make its final voyage through the Great Lakes later this year with plans to arrive at the Kingston museum’s dry dock in late summer or early fall.
The Edwardian-era ship will then be integrated into the Marine Museum’s extensive transportation collection covering the last 200 years of Great Lakes history and offer a new cultural experience in Kingston.
Built in Scotland, the vessel was launched on July 6, 1907, five years before the Titanic. It was retired in 1966 after spending almost 60 seasons transporting passengers on the Great Lakes.
“We’re pleased to steward the Keewatin through the next phase of its life here in Kingston,” museum board chair Chris West said.
“The story of the Keewatin is a story of Canada’s creation as a country. It is vital that the ship, which is the last of its kind, be preserved for current and future generations, and our Museum has the expertise, facilities, and funding to be able to do this.”
The saga surrounding the possibility the Keewatin would leave Port McNicoll began shortly after the pandemic started in March 2020.
At the time, Skyline noted the ship would remain shuttered for that summer’s tourism season. From there, fencing was placed around the ship and volunteers were asked to return their keys.It hasn’t been open since that time.
A concerted effort by the volunteer-based Keep Keewatin Home group included various campaigns including lawn signs, which many North Simcoe residents partook in to show their support for keeping the ship in Port McNicoll, a large-scale rally and even a petition to save the ship that was presented to the House of Commons by former North Simcoe MP Bruce Stanton.
The group hoped to spur the Canadian government to get involved in the Skyline stalemate.
But their efforts appeared to be all for naught with the writing seemingly written on the wall in waterproof ink.
In 2021, MidlandToday obtained a letter where a Minister of Canadian Heritage staffer tells Keewatin boosters that since the ship is privately owned, the decision of where it resides rests solely in the hands of its owners (Skyline Investments Inc).
Writing on behalf of Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbault, Josée Ethier told Dan Travers, who spearheaded the Keep Keewatin Home sign and website campaign, and other supporters that the government won’t become involved in the push to keep Skyline from moving the vessel from Port McNicoll to the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes in Kingston for a charitable tax receipt.
“The Government of Canada recognizes the important work that has been done by the Friends of the Keewatin and the volunteers towards the preservation of the ship,” wrote Ethier, who served as director of the Ministerial Correspondence Secretariat.
“However, it is important to note that the decision to donate the property to one heritage organization over another is a private matter.”
At the time, Travers called the response "cowardly" and noted "the federal government has the power to bring historical artifacts of considerable heritage and historical value under their protection, this is what we are now asking the Heritage Minister to do, until arbitration can decide the vessel's status.”
In a statement released Friday, Skyline noted that it sought to give the Keewatin to a charity approved by Canadian Heritage that had the resources to care for the ship and was qualified to ensure the long-term preservation of Canadian cultural property such as the Kee.
"We're pleased to donate this historic and treasured passenger ship to the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes to ensure its continued long-term preservation," Skyline CEO Blake Lyon said in a statement.
"Kingston is an amazing location for the Keewatin to receive maximum exposure, and the Marine Museum, with its historic dry-dock, is well qualified to maintain the Kee and showcase its important history – a goal we all share."
But the Simcoe North Federal Liberal Association plans to continue fighting to keep the ship in Port McNicoll and noted its “deeply concerned” by the deal to transfer the Keewatin from a developer to a museum in Kingston for a hefty tax credit.
The association noted it will support community advocates and will work across party lines to help Keep Keewatin Home if it can still be done.
Chair Ryan Barber said the association fully supports a heritage designation for the ship along with efforts to keep it in North Simcoe.
"We honour the tireless efforts of local volunteers at the historic restoration of this historic ship, and respect the solemn connection of local residents of piece of their history," Barber said in a statement.
"The restoration and prominence of the SS Keewatin has been a point of pride to the whole North Simcoe region, and a draw and promising addition to our local tourism industry."
From 2012 until the pandemic, the ship was operated as a historical attraction in Port McNicoll with operations managed by volunteers with the charity RJ and Diane Peterson Keewatin Foundation, also known as ‘Friends of Keewatin’.
Friends president Wayne Coombe said that while the ship is an internationally recognized “world class” historical attraction, it relied on the help of many to get to this stage of its history rather than being earlier sold off for scrap.
“We are proud to have helped,” Coombes said. “As much as the prospect of seeing Keewatin depart Port McNicoll - for some, one more time - is saddening, I think we can all agree that we will be delighted she will soon be greeting visitors once again.
“We've had seven full years to work on Keewatin, and will be able to say goodbye secure in the knowledge she will be in Canada, well taken care of, and widely promoted.”
West said the story of the Keewatin and those who played a role in its creation and care will be documented and shared in the Kingston museum once the Keewatin exhibits are ready to be shown.
“We both recognize and pay tribute to the Friends of Keewatin, the people of Port McNicoll and the many others who have cared for the Keewatin throughout its lifetime,” West said. “We also thank Skyline for their donation of this amazing ship.”
