Paddling through history on the Athabasca River

Dan Moore, chair of the 2023 Fort Assiniboine Bicentennial Voyageur Canoe Brigade, presented to Whitecourt Town Council last week about their plans for this year’s river brigade. In 2017, the group held a large event at Rotary Park pond, which included canoe rides for those in attendance, live music, and some historical presentations.

The 2023 Fort Assiniboine Bicentennial Voyageur Canoe Brigade uses massive, 25-foot canoes to traverse the Athabasca River, taking a page right of our history. There are eight to ten people per boat, and each canoe has a ground team to help with logistics that support the paddlers. “So far, we have thirteen boats registered, and we are on track to have twenty boats. That’s five boats more than what we had in 2017. From a brigade perspective, this is probably one of the biggest brigades in Canada in the last few years. It’s going to be a big one,” explained Moore.

Given the number of paddlers per boat, and logistics team members travelling by vehicle, Moore said this year’s event could encompass 200-260 participants. Moore joked that it “isn’t a bunch of yahoos floating down the river.” He explained that the event is very organized, with rules to keep it orderly. “The brigade is registered through the Canadian Voyageur Canoe Brigade Society, which is a national association. People from all over the country will be participating. I think we’ve got a boat or two coming up from the States as well.”

The event starts with registration in Blue Ridge. “We are going to be camping at the Blue Ridge Recreation Site on the night of July 6 and also the seventh. We will be doing registration and kicking off the safety meetings on July 6. Then, in the morning of July 7, we will be leaving Whitecourt at some point, from the boat launch and paddling down to Blue Ridge. We want to get down to Blue Ridge early in the afternoon, so we can do a people-on-boats event similar to what we did in Rotary Park a few years ago, except we are doing it in Blue Ridge this time.”

Moore said they wouldn’t have an event at Rotary Park this year. “Initially, we did, but because of the registration on July 6, it just didn’t work out to do an event here in Whitecourt.” After the canoes get back into the water in Blue Ridge, they will follow it along, landing in communities along the route. “There’s a big event planned for Fort Assiniboine (200th-anniversary celebration). They are hoping to get a couple of thousand people out in Fort Assiniboine for the event.” The brigade is set to end in Athabasca on July 13, totalling around 340 km.

He said the municipalities on the stop list provide support, with some providing suppers or breakfasts. “What we are requesting is that the Town of Whitecourt provide a send-off breakfast, not just to participants of the brigade but any members of the public that want to show up at the boat launch. It could be anywhere from 300 or 400 (people),” said Moore. He said they would have a more concrete number of participants hammered down by the end of May beginning of June. He also asked that someone from the council be at the send-off ceremony to talk about Whitecourt, its history, and its importance as a trading centre along the Athabasca over the last several hundred years.

The entire event focuses heavily on history and the environment. “The Athabasca Watershed Council has been around since about 2009. We have a mandate under Alberta Environment and Protected Areas to do state of the watershed reporting. We are developing an integrated watershed management plan for the Athabasca River,” explained Moore.

The Athabasca Watershed Council supports the three goals of Water For Life: safe, secure drinking water, healthy aquatic ecosystems, and reliable water quality supplies for a sustainable economy. The council’s lead role in running the brigade was a natural fit for the mandate. “The Watershed Council of today is different than the Watershed Council of five years ago with help from Alberta Environment and Protected Areas,” said Moore. “We are viewed as one of their leading Watershed Councils right now in the province. We are quite proud of our turnaround.”

Whitecourt Town Council voted unanimously to allow the mayor or a council member to participate in the send-off ceremony. They also voted to have the Administration work with the brigade group to find ways to provide support for a breakfast event. Whitecourt Town Council will vote on whether to provide the morning meal at an upcoming council meeting once more concrete participation numbers are known.