Tuesday, June 11, 2024 Parks Canada is dedicated to preserving Canada’s natural and cultural treasures and proudly enhances the nation’s top-tier tourism destinations. As pillars of Canada’s tourism industry, Parks Canada-managed locations are committed to delivering high-quality, meaningful experiences to visitors and supporting tourism in communities nationwide. Yvonne Jones, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Northern Affairs and to the Minister of National Defence (Northern Defence) and Member of Parliament for Labrador, on behalf of the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, announced a $3.
6 million investment for new interpretive offerings and interactive exhibits at Red Bay National Historic Site in Labrador. This investment, part of the $557 million announced by the Government of Canada in late 2022, will highlight this UNESCO World Heritage Site to global visitors starting in June 2025. In the mid-16th century, the abundance of right and bowhead whales attracted Basque whalers from Spain and France to the Strait of Belle Isle, establishing Red Bay as a major whaling port.
For 70 years, Basque whalers undertook the perilous, month-long journey across the Atlantic to hunt whales and produce oil that illuminated European lamps. With this funding, and in collaboration with Indigenous partners, stakeholders, and community members, Parks Canada will develop new exhibits and interpret.
