Royal Canadian Navy Ship to Visit Owen Sound on October 5
Residents can register to tour HMCS Margaret Brooke in Owen Sound on October 5, part of a Navy outreach tour across Ontario and Québec.
Residents in Owen Sound will have the chance to step aboard a Canadian warship next month when HMCS Margaret Brooke docks in the city.
The Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessel is part of the Royal Canadian Navy’s “Sailor for a Day” program, which offers guided tours in several Ontario and Québec communities this fall. Owen Sound’s visit is set for Saturday, October 5, with advance registration required.
Other stops on the tour include Thunder Bay (Sept. 18), Sault Ste. Marie (Sept. 26), Windsor (Oct. 10), Toronto (Oct. 17), and Montréal (Oct. 25–26).
The ship is named for Margaret Brooke, a Navy nursing sister honoured for her bravery during the Second World War. Brooke survived the torpedoing of the SS Caribou in 1942 and tried to save a colleague as the two clung to a lifeboat in the frigid Cabot Strait.
For her actions, she was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire.
HMCS Margaret Brooke is the second ship in the Harry DeWolf-class Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessels, a new fleet being built in Canada as part of the federal National Shipbuilding Strategy.
These ships are designed to operate in a wide range of conditions, from ice up to 1.2 metres thick in the Arctic to tropical waters. They can also take on humanitarian and search-and-rescue missions in Canada or abroad.
Features include advanced navigation systems, a 20-tonne crane, and the capacity to carry vehicles such as ATVs and snowmobiles for operations on land or ice. The vessels are considered Canada’s first line of defence in the Arctic at a time of increasing international interest and commercial traffic in northern waters.
For Owen Sound — a community with a long maritime history as a Great Lakes port once home to shipbuilding firms such as Russel Brothers — the visit offers a chance to see a modern Canadian patrol vessel up close.
Residents interested in touring HMCS Margaret Brooke can reserve a spot through the Navy’s online registration form: Register here