Maintenance Work at Lock 4 to Improve Visitor Safety

The Shubenacadie Canal Commission is completing important maintenance work at Lock 4 to help ensure visitors can continue to enjoy this historic site safely.

The work includes installing safety barriers between the lock and the river, along with temporarily removing the dock for inspection and maintenance. The dock will be unavailable during the work, which is expected to be completed by the end of the day on October 20.

We’ll provide an update if the schedule changes. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we complete these improvements to help keep Lock 4 safe and enjoyable for everyone.

A Site Rich in History

Have you visited Lock 4? Located along the Shubenacadie Canal waterway, this historic site offers visitors an opportunity to connect with Nova Scotia’s canal-building heritage.

In 1976, Lock 4 was designated as a protected site under provincial law in recognition of its historical and archaeological significance. It remains an important part of the Shubenacadie Canal’s story and a place where visitors can appreciate the engineering and ambition behind this historic waterway.

As we maintain and care for these special places, our goal is to preserve their heritage while ensuring they remain welcoming and safe for visitors to enjoy.

Thank you for helping us care for the Shubenacadie Canal!

Passionate About the Shubenacadie Waterway? Get Involved!

Are you passionate about local history, heritage preservation, and the Shubenacadie Waterway? Here’s an opportunity to get involved!

The Department of Natural Resources is accepting applications to fill vacancies on the Shubenacadie Canal Commission (SCC). Appointed Commissioners play a role in overseeing and promoting the Shubenacadie Canal System, including its heritage, recreational opportunities, and interpretive centres.

Applicants must reside in the Municipality of East Hants, the Municipality of the County of Colchester, or the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM). An interest in the Shubenacadie Canal System, heritage preservation and interpretation, a general understanding of not-for-profit organizations, and strong interpersonal and communication skills are desired.

The deadline to apply is October 20, 2026.

If you’re interested in contributing to the future of this unique part of Nova Scotia’s heritage, we encourage you to consider applying!

Learn more and apply online: novascotia.ca/abc

For more information, contact the Department of Natural Resources at ecogau@novascotia.ca or call 1-866-206-6844.

Preserving Our History: A Summer of Archival Discovery

Thanks to funding through the Nova Scotia Student Summer Skills Incentive Program, the Shubenacadie Canal Commission (SCC) welcomed Justin, a student from Dalhousie University’s Master of Information program, to undertake an organizational history project focused on preserving and improving access to the Commission’s historical records.

Working with organizational records held at the Fairbanks Centre dating from the 1980s through the 2010s, Justin carefully reviewed and inventoried correspondence, meeting minutes, financial records, reports, and other materials. This work created a comprehensive inventory to the Commission’s historical organizational records.

Priority materials were then digitized and organized into a structured digital filing system, with backups maintained in multiple locations. This will make the records easier to access and search while helping ensure they are preserved important information about the organization’s history.

The project also provided an opportunity to explore aspects of the Commission’s history in greater depth. Research at the Dartmouth Heritage Museum and Municipal Archives uncovered additional materials that provided valuable context and new perspectives.

For a small non-profit organization, projects like this can be difficult to undertake alongside the day-to-day work of caring for the Canal System. NS Skills funding made it possible to dedicate the time and resources needed to preserve this important part of the SCC’s organizational history.

We are grateful to NS Skills for supporting this opportunity and to Justin for the care, curiosity, and dedication he brought to the project. The work completed this summer will be an enduring resource for the SCC and will help us better understand and share the history of the Commission and its work to preserve the Shubenacadie Canal System.

Canada Summer Jobs: Investing in the Future of the Shubenacadie Canal

We are incredibly grateful for the support provided through the Canada Summer Jobs program, which made it possible for the Shubenacadie Canal Commission (SCC) to create a Marketing & Community Engagement Coordinator position and continue our staffed Guided Tour position this summer.

For a small non-profit organization like the SCC, funding opportunities such as Canada Summer Jobs are incredibly important. They allow us to add valuable capacity at a time when there is so much work to be done, while also giving us the opportunity to develop new ideas, programs and resources that will continue to benefit the SCC and our community long after the summer positions have ended.

Over 12 weeks, our Marketing & Community Engagement Coordinator, Ella, worked on a wide range of projects, including supporting our raffle campaign (our main fundraiser), developing awareness and engagement initiatives for the Bicentennial, creating social media and seasonal content and researching youth engagement opportunities.

Our Guided Tour position, filled by Jon, also played an important role in connecting visitors with the history and natural environment of the waterway. Over the summer, Jon provided guided tours at no cost to school groups, daycares and day camps, while also creating social media content highlighting the history and nature of the canal. Twice a week, Jon was onsite at the Flume House in Starr Park, providing interpretation to visitors from near and far and helping them discover the fascinating history of the Shubenacadie Canal. He also offered a special history-based tour at Lock 6 Park as part of Wetland Appreciation Day.

Together, these positions helped us support key SCC programs and allowed us to keep the Fairbanks Interpretive Centre open to the public on Saturdays throughout the summer.

This is the real value of programs like Canada Summer Jobs. The investment provides young people with meaningful work experience while helping community organizations like the SCC strengthen their communications, interpretation, outreach and community connections. It allows us to do more, reach more people and create resources and experiences that have a lasting impact.

We sincerely thank the Government of Canada for supporting these opportunities and for recognizing the important role that summer employment programs play in strengthening communities. This funding has made a meaningful difference to the work we are able to do and to the experiences we can offer visitors and our community along the Shubenacadie Canal.