Lightstations as aids to navigation

Canada is home to more than 250 lightstations, and they are all fully autonomous aids to navigation with automated lights. The government manages and maintains most of these lightstations for operational purposes.

Changing role of lightstations

Today’s mariners use a variety of modern technology to:

guide their navigation
ensure their safety
protect the environment

Lightstations are one of the tools available to them to:

assist their landfall
identify their position
avoid marine hazards

51 lightstations are staffed:

1 in New Brunswick
27 in British Columbia
23 in Newfoundland and Labrador

Both commercial mariners and pleasure craft owners also have access to a variety of advanced e-navigation tools such as:

GPS
lighted marine buoys
satellite-based positioning systems

Surplus lightstations

The federal government has transferred over 100 lightstations that are no longer in use to:

individuals
municipalities
community groups

The new owners conserve these important heritage sites for the benefit of all Canadians. Please visit Heritage lighthouses for more information about this process.

Page details

2026-01-28

Language selection

Search

Lightstations as aids to navigation

Page details