Wednesday, June 28, 1967 was an exciting day in St. Charles. The school year was ending that week, sure, but a new thrill was the arrival of the voyageurs on the Assiniboine River. Students were allowed to hike down St. Charles Street to the riverbank to welcome and cheer for the teams.
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Crews from eight provinces and two territories signed on.1
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A cross-country canoe race sounded daunting, and as the world’s longest canoeing race in history, it was. With determined optimism, the ambitious Centennial Voyageur Canoe Pageant was embraced by patriotic Canadians keen to celebrate the country’s centennial in 1967.
The entry fee was $1,000 (almost $9,000 today). Only Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island did not take part. Starting from Rocky Mountain House, Alberta on May 24, the race traced the route of early explorers and fur traders. Teams reached the finish line 3,283 miles (5,283 km) away in Montreal, Quebec on September 4.
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| Route of Centennial Voyageur Canoe Pageant: Rocky Mountain House to Montreal2 |
Pride was a motivation, certainly, but so was the money. Completing the trip would earn a paddler $1,000, and members of the winning team received another $1,500 each, while second- or third-place individuals received $500. (A winner’s $2,500 in 1967 would be almost $22,000 today.) As well, short sprint races at strategic points offered more chances to win prize money. Longer lap races earned bragging rights and counted in the overall race times.
Each canoe, a fibreglass replica of the North birchbark canoe, bears the name of an explorer: British Columbia, Simon Fraser; Alberta, David Thompson; Saskatchewan, Henry Kelsey; Manitoba, Pierre Radisson; Ontario, William McGillivray; Quebec, La Verendrye; New Brunswick, Samuel de Champlain; Nova Scotia, Jean Cabot; Yukon, Robert Camell and Northwest Territories, Sir Alexander Mackenzie.
Manitoba’s team, which has been leading the pageant, includes Gib MacEachern, Norm Crerar, Dave Wells, John Norman and Wayne Saltys, all of Flin Flon, Blair Harvey and Don Starkell, Winnipeg, and Joe Michelle and Roger Carriere of Cranberry Portage.3
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| And they’re off!4 |
It would be a journey to remember, and Canadian newspapers tracked their progress from start to finish.
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| Manitoba’s team was favoured. They were well trained, strong, and ready after winning a shorter, but similar event the previous year.5 |
It was a well-organized contest, with safety a top priority. Medical and other personnel were always on hand, and local police, RCMP, coast guard, navy, and government individuals monitored the action. Each team had a crew of six and three spares, with a manager who helped organize provisions. Supplies included 6,000 litres of insect repellent and extra pants.
The grueling schedule required crews to paddle at least six to eight hours a day at a pace of 60–65 strokes per minutes, with ten-minute breaks every hour. Every thirty seconds, paddlers would shift paddle sides, sliding along their seats, without breaking their pace. This sliding action wore out their pants, a risk that was anticipated by the Great West Garment Company which supplied each paddler with three pairs of jeans.6
The route was carefully planned, directing the canoes down 11 rivers and across 24 lakes. The 113 kilometers of 70 portages added to the strenuous challenge. Sometimes teams had to pull their 249-pound (113-kg) fibreglass canoes through shallow water. At other times they braved formidable rapids and wild lakes.
Crews would sprint into many of the 90 key communities along the route. They were warmly welcomed each time, and jubilant centennial celebrations added to the excitement. These events required teams to stay on schedule, and they did, averaging 6-1/2 miles (10.5 km) per hour.
That pace burned a lot of calories and required great stores of provisions. Hot meals awaited the paddlers at each stop.
But unlike the original voyageurs who thrived on a diet of pemmican and beans, the 1967 version will consume 30,000 eggs, 2-1/2 tons of bacon, 60,000 pancakes, six tons of steaks, 2-1/2 tons of potatoes and 5,000 loaves of bread.7
Manitobans were thrilled to see their team doing so well, and eagerly followed their progress. The Radisson canoe led the others into The Pas on June 13, ahead of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, New Brunswick, Quebec, Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Nova Scotia.
Schedule in Manitoba and into Ontario:
June 13–15 | The Pas |
June 17 | Duck Bay |
June 20 | Crane River |
June 23–24 | Dauphin |
June 25 | Portage la Prairie |
July 1 | Winnipeg |
July 2 | Selkirk |
July 3 | Grand Beach |
July 4 | Pine Falls |
July 5 | Lac du Bonnet |
July 6 | Pinawa |
July 7 | Pointe du Bois |
July 9 | Minaki |
July 10 | Kenora |
July 12 | Rainy River |
July 14 | Fort Frances |
July 24–26 | Fort William / Port Arthur (Thunder Bay) |
Although the standings remained fairly constant, it was often a close race, especially between the leaders, Manitoba and British Columbia. Speed was one factor, navigation another.
Manitoba paddlers took a commanding lead Sunday [June 25] in the centennial voyageur canoe pageant. The nine other canoes went off course on a 35-mile [56-km] lap from Amaranth to Delta and did not cross the finish line for nearly an hour after Manitoba. […] The error was similar to one made by Manitoba and eight other canoes last week when British Columbia was the only canoe to take the proper course and wiped out a 40-minute lead held by Manitoba at that time. The Manitoba team let out a loud cheer when they heard the remainder of the field was off course They felt they had gained the time lost when they made the same mistake.8
On June 26 Manitoba beat Ontario by a mere 14 seconds in the two-mile (3.2-km) sprint into Portage la Prairie. British Columbia was only three seconds behind Ontario.
Having led from the very start, Manitoba remained in first place overall, with a time of 183:19.44 when they reached Portage la Prairie. Rival British Columbia was close behind at 184:50.15, followed by Alberta, Ontario, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Quebec, Northwest Territories, Yukon. Nova Scotia, still trailing, clocked in about 20 hours behind the leaders.
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| “Manitoba team members: Norm Crerar with straw hat, Wayne ‘Salty’ Soltys and Gib McEachern holding two paddles.” Photo: Glenn Fallis9 |
All the teams were glad to have completed the 12-mile (19-km) portage between Delta Creek to the Assiniboine River. It was the longest portage in the entire race. Portages were necessary, of course, but were not timed. The voyageurs were allowed to portage their 25-foot (7.62-metre) canoes “by any means which might have been used 100 years ago.”10 Alberta and Quebec were the only teams to portage by hand. Others were more creative. New Brunswick used women to portage their canoe. Saskatchewan pulled theirs on a cart, while Manitoba and other teams used horse-drawn wagons.
Manitoba’s team won the 79-mile (127-km) lap from Portage la Prairie to Bison Park (just west of Winnipeg) in nine hours and 38 minutes, beating rival British Columbia by three minutes. Manitoba enjoyed a 1-1/2-hour lead in the overall race.
ST. CHARLES
On Wednesday, June 28, the canoes reached St. Charles, on the western edge of Winnipeg. School children were among the crowd that cheered the teams’ arrival at a new dock at the end of St. Charles Street where a ferry had operated from 1908 to 1959.
The 10 canoes arrived at about 11 a.m. after completing a 14-mile [22.5-km] lap race from Bison Park to the Perimeter Bridge across the Assiniboine River. The canoes travelled as a brigade, from the race finish line to the St. Charles pier where they were greeted by about 500 spectators and Mayor J. H. Belows of Assiniboia.11
British Columbia beat Manitoba in the sprint lap race by 10-1/2 seconds. Sprints were worth money, but did not affect overall standings, and the Radisson team remained in first place overall.
The lap was a difficult one for all teams due to hot temperatures and shallow water. […] Paddlers had to get out of their canoes on several occasions to push the craft off sandbars.
When the Manitoba team crossed the finish line they were paddling at about 72 strokes a minute. The temperature was 79 degrees and there was no breeze on the sheltered water.
[Manitoba team captain] Mr. Crerar said the water in the Assinboine River appeared to be badly polluted and the odor bothered the paddlers. “I bet every pig pen in Manitoba drains into that stream.”12
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| Winnipeggers celebrated the arrival of the Voyageurs.13 |
Local kids knew the Assiniboine was polluted, but could easily wade across the shallow river and often did. The temporary dock was removed, but not before a few kids pulled the styrofoam slabs out to use as rafts.
Twenty thousand spectators greeted the teams in Winnipeg, the half-way point in the race. It was a welcome destination. Having travelled over 1,400 miles (2253 km), teams deserved a two-day break. They had medical checkups at St. Boniface Hospital, which they aced. Afterwards, the crews enjoyed a hearty lobster dinner sponsored by New Brunswick.
On July 1, Dominion Day (renamed Canada Day in 1982), thousands attended a centennial ceremony at the Legislative Building. Celebrations included a regatta on the Red River where paddlers demonstrated their skills and had a short sprint race.
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| Chef John Peterer trained in Switzerland and came to Canada in 1965. He shared his expertise as a popular instructor at Red River College.14 |
The teams enjoyed their break in Winnipeg, but were ready to leave its polluted and shallow waters and head for Selkirk and then Grand Beach. Sprints were still tight; British Columbia won by 1-1/2 seconds at Grand Beach, but Manitoba retained its 90-minute lead overall.
The Lake Winnipeg stretch presented one of the toughest yet. Teams were advised to head out early, when conditions were better. Still, whitecaps driven by strong northwest winds were a definite hazard. One team had to bail out their canoe as they travelled.15
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| From shallows to whitecaps, crews dealt with every kind of water hazard.16 |
Manitoba won the sprint into Pine Falls, nine seconds ahead of Ontario. Alberta was third, and British Columbia was in uncharacteristically fourth place.
Pointe du Bois was the last stop in Manitoba. On July 8 teams competed in another lap race from one campsite to the next, their first since racing from Bison Park to Winnipeg.
Lap races are considered the most difficult feat of the pageant and have the biggest result in the over-all standings. Today’s race will be from here to North Boundary Falls, an island about 50 miles northwest of Minaki, Ont.17
Lap and sprint races remained close. Manitoba won the 30-mile (48-km) lap race from Pointe du Bois to North Boundary Island, beating British Columbia by 40 seconds, and beat them in the 1-1/2-mile sprint into Minaki by 11 seconds.
On July 10 the race was officially turned over to the Ontario government in Kenora. The Manitoba paddlers were in fine form as they entered the province, increasing their overall lead to one hour, 40 minutes.
On Tuesday, July 11, an all-day lap race took canoeists through Lake of the Woods to Sandy Point. It tested their navigational skills.
There are more than 14,000 islands with more than 60,000 miles of shoreline in the lake. All agree that it would not be hard to make a navigational error. […] They are expected to reach Rainy River Wednesday night and will follow the Rainy River system through Ontario and Minnesota to the Lakehead. From there they cross Lake Superior to Sault Ste. Marie, Lake Huron and up the Mattawa-Ottawa water system to the St. Lawrence.18
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| Alberta shows how to tackle rough water. The Yukon team had to be rescued when their canoe was swamped in the Lachine rapids.19 |
Lake of the Woods was more than a navigational challenge. On July 12, high winds and waves caused a five-hour delay between Sandy Point and Rainy River. Waves as high as 12 feet (3.66 m) were not safe for a six-mile (9.66-km) stretch of open water. Waiting for the winds to die down, the brigade was escorted by a number of safety boats, and reached Rainy River in the evening.
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| For the first time in the race, rough conditions caused cancellations.20 |
Rapids, however, would not subside, and there were two major sets of the Manitou rapids. It was a difficult and exhausting stretch, especially for New Brunswick, which needed two attempts.
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| British Columbia was unhappy to be fifth in the lap up the Rainy River to Emo, Ontario.21 |
A three-mile (4.8-km) sprint into Fort Frances and a portage through its downtown attracted local crowds, as well as Americans from International Falls, directly across the border. Teams were celebrated with a dinner and dance.
On Saturday, July 15, the teams headed to a quieter spot.
Today the canoeists head into Quetico provincial park where they will be isolated for three days. They will be forced to carry their bedroll and food rations with them, their only contact with civilization being through radio.22
After the quiet of Quetico provincial park, the teams’ next destination was Lake Superior, where rough lake conditions were expected. British Columbia won the July 22 lap, but by this point Manitoba had a two-hour lead overall. On the following day the canoes were welcomed at a reconstructed Northwest Company fort at Grand Portage, Minnesota.
Surprisingly, calm water on Lake Superior allowed teams to arrive at Red Rock, Ontario 24 hours ahead of schedule. Taking advantage of the good conditions, teams combined two stretches, and covered 84 miles (135 km), the second-longest one-day stretch after their 89 miles (143 km) on Lake Winnipeg.
Conditions remained favourable along Lake Superior’s north shore when the teams reached Terrace Bay, Ontario, on August 1. From there 250 miles (402 km) of open water lay ahead. A coast guard cutter and two Royal Canadian Navy ships maintained their surveillance as a safety measure, and wooden paddles were swapped out for aluminum ones that would be visible on radar.
By August 23 the teams had left North Bay and the deep waters of the Great Lakes and had to contend with shallow rivers again. They also faced a new hazard: log booms!
The centennial voyageurs arrived here [Mattawa, Ontario] from North Bay after paddling and portaging one of the toughest stretches to date of their Centennial Year canoe pageant from Alberta to Expo 67. The 50-mile [80.5-km] stretch over shallow areas of the shale-covered Ottawa River scraped the bottoms of the canoes so badly they had to be re-waxed. […] One pageant official said the stretch was the worst since the Minnesota border. […] Today, the six-man crews were to paddle through onrushing logs and narrow channels between log booms, something they have not encountered previously.23
Manitoba led the rest when they reached Ottawa on Tuesday, August 29.
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| Among other hardships, the teams “endured about 100 nights of parties.”24 |
Canada’s capital city came out in full force to welcome the voyageurs of 1967 when they arrived in Ottawa on Tuesday, August 29. Dignitaries and politicians addressed the large crowds.
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| “Secretary of State Judy LaMarsh tries on a buffalo robe that she will receive officially from the Alberta paddlers when the Centennial Voyageurs reach Expo next week. Miss LaMarsh welcomed the voyageurs on Parliament Hill Wednesday. With her are Centennial Commissioner John Fisher (left) and Col. William Matthews, chief of the voyageur pageant.” 25 |
The end was in sight. After the fanfare in Ottawa, the teams headed to their ultimate destination: Expo 67 in Montreal.
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| It had been a long 104 days. “Manitoba’s team completed the trek in 531 hours, 6 minutes and 15.6 seconds. B.C. was second at 532:28:14. Alberta was third at 535:26:14. […] Ontario finished in fourth place followed by New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, Quebec, Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nova Scotia, in that order.”26 |
Flin Flon, Manitoba and Creighton, Saskatchewan honoured their teams at a banquet in September, 1967.
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| Nine members of Manitoba’s team were from Flin Flon, and “17 of the 18 paddlers that made up the Manitoba and Saskatchewan teams had learned to paddle in this northern area.” They were the best paddlers in Canada.27 |
All agreed that “the pageant was the greatest single event of the centennial year.” The kids in St. Charles would agree.
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| Manitoba’s winning canoe, on display at Polo Park shopping centre, Winnipeg.28 |
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| Radisson, Manitoba’s restored winning canoe, on display at Fort Dauphin Museum.29 |
Sources (retrieved June 4, 2025)
- Craig Baird, “The Voyageur Centennial Canoe Pageant,” Canadian History Ehx, September 12, 2023. https://canadaehx.com/2023/09/12/the-voyageur-centennial-canoe-pageant
- “Navigating the Rapids of Research for a Canadian Canoe Race Connection,” TheWristorian [blog], Nov. 20, 2020. https://www.thewristorian.com/post/wittnauer-canoe-race
- “Manitoba Dips A Paddle For Canoe Marathon,” Winnipeg Free Press, June 6, 197, p. 8
- “Centennial Voyageur Canoe Pageant,” Wikipedia, photo by Frank Grant. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centennial_Voyageur_Canoe_Pageant
- Jack Bennett, “A Journey To Remember,” Winnipeg Free Press, April 18, 1967, p. 24
- “Centennial Voyageur Canoe Presentation,” The Millbrook Times, December 2024. https://themillbrooktimes.ca/centennial-voyageur-canoe-pageant-presentation/
- “Manitoba Dips A Paddle For Canoe Marathon,” Winnipeg Free Press, June 6, 1967, p. 8
- Neil Louttit, “1-1/2-Hour Lead For Manitoba,” Winnipeg Free Press, June 26, 1967, p. 3
- James Raffan, “Tracking Down The Canoes From The World’s Longest Paddling Race,” Paddling Magazine, Issue 64, Summer 2021. https://paddlingmag.com/stories/columns/tumblehome/centennial-voyageur-canoe-pageant/
- Neil Louttit, “Voyageurs Head For Winnipeg,” Winnipeg Free Press, June 27, 1967, p. 3
- “Manitoba Leading Crews In,” Winnipeg Free Press, June 28, 1967, p. 3
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- “Manitoba Retains 1-1/2-Hour Margin,” Winnipeg Free Press, June 29, 1967, p. 3
- “B.C. Wins Sprint Over Manitoba,” Winnipeg Free Press, July 4, 1967, p. 3
- Craig Baird, “The Voyageur Centennial Canoe Pageant,” Canadian History Ehx, September 12, 2023. https://canadaehx.com/2023/09/12/the-voyageur-centennial-canoe-pageant
- Neil Louttit, “Canoe Pageant Nears N.W. Ontario,” Winnipeg Free Press, July 8, 1967, p. 3
- Neil Louttit, “LaMarsh Lauds New ‘Canadian Spirit,’ ” Winnipeg Free Press, July 11, 1967, p. 3
- Joanne Elves, “Voyageurs race from Rocky Mountain House to The Pas to celebrate Canada150,” Calgary Herald, June 21, 2017. Photo: Voyageurs Rendezvous 2017. https://calgaryherald.com/travel/voyageurs-race-from-rocky-mountain-house-to-the-pas-to-celebrate-canada150
- Neil Louttit, “High Wind, Waves Halt Voyageurs,” Winnipeg Free Press, July 13, 1967, p. 3
- Neil Louttit, “Manitoba First Through Rapids,” Winnipeg Free Press, July 14, 1967, p. 3
- “Fort Frances Welcomes Canoe Teams,” Winnipeg Free Press, July 15, 1967, p. 3
- “Manitoba Voyageurs Lead Pack,” Winnipeg Free Press, August 24, 1967, p. 46
- “7,000 At Ottawa Greet Centennial Voyageurs,” Winnipeg Free Press, August 30, 1967, p. 35
- “Voyageurs Greeted on Hill,” Winnipeg Free Press, August 31, 1967, p. 50
- Neil Louttit, “First To Expo: Manitoba Canoeists Win Race,” Winnipeg Free Press, September 5, 1967, p. 1
- “The North Honors Manitoba Paddlers,” Winnipeg Free Press, September 20, 1967, p. 37
- Polo Park Shopping Centre, University of Manitoba Building Index. https://digitalcollections.lib.umanitoba.ca/islandora/object/uofm%3A2631225
- M. A. Nyquist, “Voyageur canoe gets an overhaul,” Dauphin Herald, July 11, 2017, p. A3
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