Canoe, British Columbia, is a semi-rural community in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

within the larger City of

Salmon Arm Salmon Arm is a city in the Columbia Shuswap Regional District of the Southern Interior of the Canadian province of British Columbia that has a population of 17,706 (2016). Salmon Arm was incorporated as a municipal district on May 15, 1905. The ...

. The community lies on the south side of

Shuswap Lake Shuswap Lake (pronounced /ˈʃuːʃwɑːp/) is a lake located in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada that drains via the Little Shuswap River into Little Shuswap Lake. Little Shuswap Lake is the source of the South Thompson River, ...

, northeast of the city centre, just off the

Trans Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway ( French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean o ...

. Canoe is home to the Canoe Forest Products plywood plant, which processes lumber from the surrounding forests for sale and export.

History

The Secwepemc peoples were known to use the mouth of Canoe Creek as a site to launch

dugout canoe A dugout canoe or simply dugout is a boat made from a hollowed tree. Other names for this type of boat are logboat and monoxylon. ''Monoxylon'' (''μονόξυλον'') (pl: ''monoxyla'') is Greek – ''mono-'' (single) + '' ξύλον xylon'' ( ...

s for travel around Shuswap Lake. The town at Canoe was established in the late 1800s, as the Canadian Pacific Railway was being completed and

joined confederation with

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The local economy was initially based on agriculture and forestry, with an apple-packing plant receiving produce from surrounding farms and exporting via the adjacent railway tracks, bringing much business to the community in the early 1900s. The Canoe post office opened in 1909, and Canoe has been marked on official maps since at least 1915. The former packing plant sites are now occupied by family housing, but many of the other historical buildings, including the 1919 Victory Hall, a former library, and churches, still stand. The early history on Canoe has been documented in a 1980 limited press book, "The Saga of Canoe, 1888–1938" which features photos of the heritage buildings and founding families, many of which are still present in the community.

Economy

The community hosts numerous local services including a village market, popular cafe, post office, community hall, senior's hall, churches and the North Canoe Elementary School. Most residents of Canoe work in Salmon Arm, which is only a 7-minute drive out of the community, though some businesses operate in Canoe including Canoe Plumbing, several hairdressers, a violin school and other home-based businesses. Canoe Forest Products Ltd. operates a plywood plant and is the largest employer in the community. The Salmon Arm water treatment facility is located beside Canoe Beach in a new high tech facility.

Attractions

Canoe's attractions are mainly oriented around summertime tourism, and include a 27-hole executive golf course and restaurant, go-carts and mini-golf, two motels, coffee bistro and roaster, marina, wharf, two boat launches, parks and trails, and a free public beach. The 1919 Victory Hall was recently renovated to host local events and concerts. Canoe Beach is the only public beach in the immediate Salmon Arm area and draws significant local tourist traffic in summer months. The beach and adjacent park areas host important events for the wider Salmon Arm community, such as seasonal ball tournaments, the CP Holiday Train, and the 150th Canada Day celebration. On January 27, 2010 the Olympic Torch for the 2010 Winter Olympic games made its way through Canoe on day 90 en route to Vancouver.Olympic Torch Relay Interactive Map
. It is thought that the fact that early white travelers were impressed by the dugout canoes drawn up on the beach is the source of the name of this community.

References

External links

Video Footage of Olympic Torch in Canoe, BCOurCanoe.ca: A new (2014) classified ads site for Canoe residentsCanoe's Facebook Page
{{coord, 50, 45, 00, N, 119, 14, 00, W, display=title Populated places in the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District Salmon Arm