Port Dalhousie is a community in

St. Catharines St. Catharines is the most populous city in Canada's Niagara Region, the eighth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2021, St. Catharines has an area of and 136,803 residents. It lies in Southern Ontario, south of Toronto ac ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. Known for its waterfront appeal, it is home to the

Royal Canadian Henley Regatta The Royal Canadian Henley Regatta started in 1880 as the first championship for the newly formed Canadian Association of Amateur Oarsmen. History It changed venues often until 1903, when it was decided to hold it at St. Catharines Port Dalhou ...

and is historically significant as the terminus for the first three (19th century) routes of the

Welland Canal The Welland Canal is a ship canal in Ontario, Canada, and part of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway. The canal traverses the Niagara Peninsula between Port Weller, Ontario, Port Weller on Lake Ontario, and Port Colborne on Lak ...

, built in 1820, 1845 and 1889.

Activities

Lakeside Park Beach in Saint Catharines ON

The city's most popular beach, on the shore of

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

, is located in Port Dalhousie at historic Lakeside Park. Popular activities that take place at the beach are stand up paddle boarding, swimming, kayaking and beach volleyball. The park is home to the Lakeside Park Carousel which was carved by Charles I. D. Looff in 1905 and brought to

in 1921. It continues to provide amusement for young and old alike, at just 5 cents a ride. Port Dalhousie is home to The

on Martindale Pond. The Regatta, which annually occurs has been happening for "almost 100 years".

Etymology

Port Dalhousie is named after

George Ramsay, 9th Earl of Dalhousie General George Ramsay, 9th Earl of Dalhousie, (23 October 1770 – 21 March 1838), styled Lord Ramsay until 1787, was a British Army officer and colonial administrator. He served as the Governor of Nova Scotia from 1816 to 1820, Governor Genera ...

Governor General of British North America The governor general of Canada () is the federal representative of the . The monarch of Canada is also sovereign and head of state of 14 other Commonwealth realms and resides in the United Kingdom. The monarch, on the advice of his or her Ca ...

. Dalhousie also gave his name to

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

, and to the town of

Dalhousie, New Brunswick Dalhousie ( ) is a former Town in Restigouche County, New Brunswick, Restigouche County, New Brunswick. It was dissolved in 2023, when it amalgamated with Charlo, New Brunswick, Charlo to form the New Town of Heron Bay, New Brunswick, Heron B ...

. Dalhousie pronounced his name 'dal-HOW-zee' during his time. All of his namesakes carry this pronunciation except Port Dalhousie, and Dalhousie Street in Brantford, Ontario, which are pronounced 'duh-LOO-zee'. Dalhousie Street and the former

Dalhousie Ward Dalhousie Ward (pronounced or ) is a former ward in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was created in 1888 when it was annexed by Ottawa from Nepean Township, becoming Ottawa's eighth ward. It was merged with Wellington Ward in 1994 to becom ...

in Ottawa are often pronounced 'dal-HOO-zee'.Ottawa Journal, Feb 11 1967, pg 38 It is said that this is a result of the accent of the

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

sailors and shipbuilders who frequented the Port's establishments (Dalhousie, himself a Scot, used the more upper class English-sounding pronunciation).

Notable people

Neil Peart Neil Ellwood Peart ( ; September 12, 1952 – January 7, 2020) was a Canadian and American musician, known as the drummer, percussionist, and primary lyricist of the rock band Rush (band), Rush. He was known to fans by the nickname "the Profe ...

, drummer and lyricist of the Canadian rock band Rush, reminisces about growing up in Port Dalhousie in his book '' Traveling Music: Playing Back the Soundtrack to My Life and Times'', as well as in his lyrics for Rush's song " Lakeside Park."

Paul Bernardo Paul Kenneth Bernardo (born August 27, 1964), also known as Paul Jason Teale, is a Canadian serial rapist and serial killer dubbed the Scarborough Rapist, the Schoolgirl Killer and, together with his former wife Karla Homolka, one of the Ken an ...

and

Karla Homolka Karla Leanne Homolka (born May 4, 1970), also known as Karla Leanne Teale, Leanne Teale and Leanne Bordelais, is a Canadian serial killer who acted as an accomplice to her husband, Paul Bernardo, taking active part in the rapes and murders of at ...

, Canadian serial killers, briefly rented a home here before their incarceration.

Climate

Gallery

Image:Welland canal a030561.jpg, Aerial view, 1920 Image:Welland canal a030557.jpg, Aerial view, 1920 Image:Welland canal a030556.jpg, Aerial view, 1920 Image:Port Dalhousie.jpg, Port Dalhousie, 2018 File:Port Dalhousie Memorial.jpg, A memorial in the town to the local soldiers who died in the

First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and

Second World Wars World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

References

External links

{{Authority control Neighbourhoods in St. Catharines Populated places on Lake Ontario in Canada