Collingwood Shipbuilding was a major

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

shipbuilder of the late 19th and 20th centuries. The facility was located in the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

and saw its business peak during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The shipyard primarily constructed

lake freighter Lake freighters, or lakers, are bulk carrier vessels that operate on the Great Lakes of North America. These vessels are traditionally called boats, although classified as ships. Since the late 19th century, lakers have carried bulk cargoes of m ...

s for service on the Great Lakes but also constructed warships during the Second World War and government ships postwar. The shipyard was closed permanently in 1986 and the land was redeveloped into a new housing community.

History

Formed in 1882 as Collingwood Dry Dock, Shipbuilding and Foundry Company in

Collingwood, Ontario Collingwood is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. It is situated on Nottawasaga Bay at the southern point of Georgian Bay. Collingwood is well known as a tourist destination, for its skiing in the winter, and limestone caves along the Nia ...

by J. D. Silcox (also contractor at the

Murray Canal The Murray Canal is a canal in the municipalities of Quinte West and Brighton, Ontario, Canada, and runs from the western end of the Bay of Quinte to Presqu'ile Bay on Lake Ontario. It is approximately in length and has maximum depth of . The ...

) and S. D. Andrews and renamed with the shortened name in 1892, Collingwood Shipbuilding's core business was building

s, ships built to fit the narrow locks between the Great Lakes. Over the company's lifetime it built over 200 ships. During the Second World War (1940–1944), the company was contracted to build 23 warships for the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...

and

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, mostly

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

s and

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

s. The shipyard was acquired by

Canada Steamship Lines Canada Steamship Lines (CSL) is a shipping company with headquarters in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The business has been operating for well over a century and a half. Beginnings CSL had humble beginnings in Canada East in 1845, operating river b ...

(CSL) in 1945. Business slowed in the 1970s and by the 1980s orders were in severe decline. The shipyard closed following the merger of CSL's shipbuilding interest with

Upper Lakes Shipping The Upper Lakes Shipping Company was a Canadian shipping company that maintained a fleet of lake freighters on the North American Great Lakes from 1931 to 2011. The company was privately owned. In February 2011 the company sold its fleet to Alg ...

to form Canadian Shipbuilding and Engineering Limited in 1986. The last ship completed and launched by the shipyard was for the

Canadian Coast Guard The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG; french: links=no, Garde côtière canadienne, GCC) is the coast guard of Canada. Formed in 1962, the coast guard is tasked with marine search and rescue (SAR), communication, navigation, and transportation issues in ...

. The company folded in 1986.

The Shipyards waterfront community

CSL retained ownership of the land and slowly the buildings and structures of the old shipyard were demolished by 2003. After remediation of of the site was completed in 2003–2004, re-development began. Left vacant for almost two decades and then sold to developers Fram + Slokker. The area was renamed The Shipyards. Only the drydock basin and launch basin remain of the site's previous use and Buildings #1 and #2 were designed to pay homage to various shipyard buildings into the townhouse complex. Beginning in 2004 the former shipyard was rezoned from industrial to commercial use. The property underwent re-development as part of Collingwood Harbour's revitalization plan. The area east of the former launch basin became home to a residential community consisting of low-rise condos,

townhome A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...

s and detached homes. The former launch basin is surrounded by a boardwalk, while the area between the launch basin and the drydock is awaiting development.

Other notable ships

* 1946 – buoy tender * /minesweepers 1942 * s 1940–1941 * Park-class merchant ships 1942-1945 * 1985 – icebreaker * SS ''Huronic'' 1901 - Great Lakes passenger ship/freighter * SS ''Hamonic'' 1909 - Great Lakes passenger ship/freighter * 1974 - car ferry * 1946 - retired car ferry * 1950 - retired car ferry * 1981 - retired bulk carrier

References

External links

Shipyards Amphitheatre & Greenspace
{{Canadian shipbuilders Shipbuilding companies of Canada Canada Steamship Lines Defunct manufacturing companies of Canada Defunct shipping companies of Canada Former defence companies of Canada Companies based in Ontario Collingwood, Ontario Manufacturing companies established in 1882 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1986 1882 establishments in Ontario 1986 disestablishments in Ontario Canadian companies established in 1882 Ships built in Collingwood, Ontario History of shipbuilding in Ontario