THUNDER BAY – The Alexander Henry will be coming home.
Thunder Bay city council on Monday night voted to spend up to $125,000 towards the costs of towing the decommissioned Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker from southern Ontario back to where it was built nearly 60 years ago.
The decision marked a victory for the Lakehead Transportation Museum Society, which has been working since last fall to bring the ship to the city with plans to continue its legacy as a tourist attraction.
The Alexander Henry was constructed by the former Port Arthur Shipbuilding Company and commissioned as a Canadian Coast Guard vessel in 1959. The ship, which broke ice on the Great Lakes, was a familiar sight in the local harbour until its decommissioning in 1984. It had a second career as a featured attraction at the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes in Kingston but came on the market when that property was sold, leaving the future of the ship in question.
Kingston city council previously pledged $50,000 to relocate the ship to Thunder Bay, saving it from being scrapped.
The cost of towing the ship to Thunder Bay from where it is currently docked in Picton, Ont. is pegged at $250,000. In addition to the commitment from both Thunder Bay and Kingston, the transportation museum society has received a pledge of $50,000 from a private donor, the group is working towards a $50,000 fundraising target and they have applied to the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation for another $150,000.
Further site preparation costs range from $40,000 to $70,000.
“If everything goes without any unseen delays we hope to have the ship here in Thunder Bay sometime in late July. It could be earlier, we have to have discussions with our tow operator,” transportation museum society president Charlie Brown said.
Administration is recommending the ship be displayed at the Kam River Heritage Park, rather than the transportation museum society’s desired location at Pool Six.
Coun. Larry Hebert said damage from mischief done to the former VIA Rail train and James Whalen tugboat in the area makes him reluctant to want the Alexander Henry at the site.
“Even though I live over on this side of town not far from here I have concerns because of the vandalism,” Hebert said.
Coun. Shelby Ch’ng was the lone opposing vote, questioning the group’s business plan that counts on drawing 7,000 visitors in the first year and a net profit of nearly $15,000.
“This is not just adding up,” Ch’ng said. “We’re voting on bringing the Henry here but it doesn’t say which docks it is. If it’s at Kamview you’re not getting the visitors.”
