Few lights have been classified. Ironically, many community groups have come forward to assist in restoring and maintaining their lightstations, but property and disposal regulations enforced by the federal Treasury Board make their participation all but impossible and prefer to sell lighthouses to the highest bidder. A Lighthouse Protection Act would set heritage standards for all lighthouses. It would enable a trustee relationship whereby lighthouses remain public property but can be developed appropriately by communities. Unless this action is taken soon, Canada stands to lose hundreds of heritage structures and irreplaceable public access to our coastlines.
Lighthouses are icons of maritime history in Canada.
They are often the sole remaining federal presence in communities on the east and west coasts, and on the Great Lakes. Today, Canada has 583 surviving lighthouses. In the first decade of the 20th century, Canada had more than 800 staffed lighthouses, beacons and fog horns. Today there are 52 lighthouses with resident keepers. Large scale automation, cuts to the Canadian Coast Guard and subsequent downgrading of traditional aids to navigation means that existing lightstations receive minimal maintenance.