Each year, millions of Canadians participate in
water related activities. Activities using a power boat represent
a significant portion of that number. Figure 1 shows that, in 1996,
9.3% of Canadians as a whole made use of a power boat, with the
highest participation rate being in Saskatchewan (16.7% of the population)
and the lowest being in Prince Edward Island (4.3%).
[D] Click for larger version, 8 KB Figure1. Powerboat Use in Canada, 1996
Powered watercraft covers a variety of boat types, ranging from
personal watercraft (PWCs) to recreational fishing boats and large
yachts (yachts with an in-board engine). The range of recreational
activities is also diverse, ranging from cruising, access to cottages,
to fishing and water sports.
The map shows the number of trips where a powerboat was used. Data
is shown by watershed. Users should
be aware that while some form of activity may take place in most
of a watershed, the bulk of the activity will be found relatively
close to settlements. This will be particularly true for watersheds
in northern Canada.
Like many other recreational activities, powerboating developed
around the beginning of the 20th century. New technology such as
the development of small in-board engines (and especially the development
of outboard engines) encouraged the growth of power boating, but
so did the development of relatively cheap, lightweight materials
for building small boats such as aluminum and fibreglass. The expansion
of cottage-owning from being mainly for the wealthy to being relatively
common also encouraged small boat ownership of all kinds.
The large number of powerboats in Canada has lead to many concerns
about their usage. These include concerns about pollution, habitat
disturbance, speed, noise, and the use of alcohol while operating
a power boat. National agencies and governments at various levels
are adopting guidelines and policies to address many of these issues.
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