Parks Canada and Tourisme Haut-Richelieu are jointly celebrating the reopening of Fort Lennox National Historic Site and the beginning of the tourist season

The Government of Canada invested over $14 million to restore and enhance this site and renew the visitor experience.

SAINT-PAUL-DE-L'ÎLE-AUX-NOIX, QC, June 8, 2023 /CNW/ - The network of historic sites and protected areas administered by Parks Canada is a gateway to nature, history, and 450 000 km² of stories from coast to coast to coast.

Today, Parks Canada celebrated the reopening of Fort Lennox National Historic Site. Over the past five years, Parks Canada has worked to restore and enhance the site, especially the soldiers' barracks, which is the iconic building at the heart of the fortification, and to renew the visitor experience. Starting this summer, the public will be able to discover the new exhibition Passages, experiences of this island.

This restoration project was made possible thanks to over $14 million in funding from the Federal Infrastructure Investment Program. Parks Canada would like to acknowledge the collaboration of the community, especially the regional tourism stakeholders, including Tourisme Haut-Richelieu, throughout the work.

Through this investment, Parks Canada is helping to conserve the heritage value of these important cultural resources, ensuring high quality, meaningful visitor experiences and contributing to Canada's world-class tourism offering.

Investments at Fort Lennox National Historic Site is reflected in a number of initiatives aimed at ensuring the condition of the facilities and enriching the experience offered to visitors today and for generations to come. The most important work was carried out on the soldiers' barracks, the emblematic building of Fort Lennox. Major masonry work on its foundations and exterior walls has been carried out in recent years. Deployed in a completely renewed space on the first floor, the magnificent new thematic exhibition Passages, experiences of this island tells the great story of the little Île aux Noix.

Other essential maintenance and restoration work on some of the adjoining infrastructures has been done on the site to ensure public safety.

Such investments help sustain the health of natural and built heritage, and create jobs in local communities, while offering visitors high-quality, safe and meaningful experiences across the country. Parks Canada is working with its tourism partners to ensure the return of this heritage treasure to the heart of the regional cultural and museological landscape.

"With this project, we not only succeeded in restoring Fort Lennox, but we have also improved the experience offered to visitors. By working with the community and tourism partners, we are also showcasing the historical value of the Montérégie, which will promote the region and bring economic opportunities for local businesses."

The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez
Minister of Canadian Heritage

"It is with great pride that we celebrate the reopening of this tourist treasure, Fort Lennox. Heritage presentation is a priority for Tourisme Haut-Richelieu, and we are delighted to invite visitors to come and rediscover this enchanting site, with its renewed experience, a real asset for the municipality of Saint-Paul-de-l'Ile-aux-Noix and the entire region. Thousands of visitors are expected this summer, who will be able to take advantage of their visit to Fort Lennox to enjoy a microadventure on the banks of the Richelieu River, and thus contribute to the economic development of our region."

Isabelle Charlebois
Executive Director, Tourisme Haut-Richelieu

• Parks Canada's role is to protect representative examples of Canada's natural and cultural heritage, and to share its history, including the cultures, stories and contributions of Indigenous peoples.
• Parks Canada's wide-ranging infrastructure portfolio includes more than 18,500 built assets. Since 2015, the Federal Infrastructure Investment Program has enabled Parks Canada to improve the condition of approximately 5,000 assets across the country.
• Fort Lennox is a British fortification whose historic buildings were built between 1819 and 1829. There are no bridges or roads leading to it. It can only be reached by boat.
• The new exhibition Passages, experiences of this island will present the human history of this unique place and unlock the secrets of the imposing building that is Fort Lennox Barracks. Visitors will also be introduced to the daily life of the service families and the life of the women in the garrison, and many of the artifacts recovered will tell the story of the soldiers who lived on the island.
• This must-see family getaway provides a half-day (or more!) of discoveries on an island where nature and culture meet in an exceptional setting. Fort Lennox's 2023 operating season is as follows:
• June 17 and 18 | Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• June 23 to September 4 | Daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• September 8 to October 9 | Friday, Saturday, Sunday and public holidays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Backgrounder: Federal Infrastructure Investment Projects ? Fort Lennox National Historic Site Reopening

• Parks Canada website
• Fort Lennox National Historic Site
• Fort-Lennox photos and video (Google Drive link, click here)

SOURCE Parks Canada