For generations, Métis in the Upper Great Lakes have used their deep connection to and knowledge of the waters to earn a living for their families, creating prosperity through water-based professions like captaining, guiding, and commercial fishing.
Boat building became another vital livelihood for many Métis families around Georgian Bay as government regulation, settler tourism, and broader economic changes caused traditional Métis economies to decline in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
One boat holds a special place in the hearts of many in the Georgian Bay Métis Community: the Gidley Boat.
Gidley boats were made by the Gidley Boat Company, later renamed the Georgian Bay Boat & Canoe Company, which once called Penetanguishene home. The company produced an impressive line of distinctive canoes, rowboats, sailboats, private and commercial steamboats, and large houseboats, before being acquired by Grew and Bonnie Boat Co. in 1939.
Throughout that history, many Georgian Bay Métis families, including members of the Beausoleil, Beaudoin, Dusome, Desjardin, and Leduc families, worked for the Gidley Boat Company, proudly earning a livelihood for their families.
The Gidley Boat remains a treasured part of Penetanguishene’s history, remembered and celebrated by many members of the Métis community, including Métis members of the Georgian Bay Heritage League, who proudly preserve and pass along their community’s boat-building tradition to the new generations.
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