Community Relations

HMCS Halifax home after successful Great Lakes tour

By Sub-Lieutenant Diane Michon

Credit:  DND HMCS Halifax drew thousands of visitors during her tour of the Great Lakes region, and Thunder Bay was no exception.

After wowing thousands of visitors across Ontario and Quebec, HMCS Halifax is finally home after the last leg of her Great Lakes deployment.   On the second half of her six-week voyage, the ship visited Oshawa, Hamilton, Port Weller, Thunder Bay, Marathon, Windsor and Quebec City. 

In every port, Halifax was warmly welcomed and brought in thousands of visitors for tours. Oshawa alone saw over 4 000 people see the ship in a single day. This did not include the hundreds more who took advantage of the numerous static displays such as the Mercedes G-Wagon and the Tudor cockpit, and had a chance to talk to recruiters. 

The ship’s crew made its mark in each of the cities visited. Activities ranged from training with local Naval Reserve Divisions, supporting local charities, and learning about the cities they visited. Ship’s team divers conducted hull dives in Hamilton, Thunder Bay and Windsor, and gave the local units not only a chance to dive with new people, but the rare opportunity to dive on a frigate.  

Charity events were included in every port the ship visited on the second leg of the trip. The crew climbed, cooked and demolished everything they could to help support the communities. In Hamilton, members of Halifax and HMCS Star participated in the local “Climb for Cancer” and climbed the equivalent of four times the height of Mount Everest.

Thunder Bay saw cooks from Halifax and HMCS Griffon serve up mouth-watering rib dinners in support of a soup kitchen and youth sports program. 

Most noticeably was the seemingly non-stop work for Habitat for Humanity. The crew built playhouses for auction, roofed an old church and gutted the interior for new renovations, built frames for new constructions and helped in the local ReStores (building supply stores). Halifax’s sailors also participated in Habitat for Humanity builds in Montreal, Kingston, Toronto, Hamilton, Thunder Bay and Windsor.

With the Great Lakes deployment now over, it is easy to look back at each port visit and see the impact that the ship left in her wake.  Whether it was in the form of a new recruit, money raised for charity, or simply the experience of visiting a warship, HMCS Halifax left her mark on every visitor that passed across her brow.

Back to Listing