Designated Historic Place

The Cannery at Basin Head Fisheries Museum

Basin Head, Prince Edward Island

Built
1941
Recognized
2005
By
Province of Prince Edward Island

The register’s text, word for word

Description

The Cannery at the Basin Head Fisheries Museum is an asymmetrical building with attached sheds and dormers. It is clad with wooden shingles on the exterior walls and on its sloping gabled roof. Located near the sea, in the eastern region of Prince Edward Island, it is the heart of the Basin Head Fisheries Museum.

Heritage value

The Cannery is valued as a well-preserved and rare surviving example of a circa 1940s fish cannery in Prince Edward Island. The harbour entrance at Basin Head was man made in 1938, replacing the entrance that had been further along the coast at South Lake. The new harbour soon became the focus of economic activity for the area when the Government completed the Cannery building in 1941. This was operated by the Eastern Fisheries Company and processed "chicken haddie" - a canned, compressed haddock and hake fish product.

The Cannery is the only original building on the Basin Head Museum site. It is used to display canning equipment telling the story of the inshore fishery and its culture which once predominated much of coastal Prince Edward Island. On display and of special interest is an original ice boat once used to bring mail and passengers to PEI from the mainland during the winter.

The Museum opened in 1973 as part of the PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation. Expansion of the site includes shops and outbuildings to accommodate visitors to the site and nearby beach. In the 1990s, a coastal ecology exhibit explaining the biology of the nearby sand dunes was installed adjacent to the building.

In 1998, a group was formed to manage the development of the site. In 2000, researchers developed a biological inventory of the area which led to the coastline at Basin Head receiving status as a Marine Protected Area under Canada's Oceans Act, due to the presence of many diverse species, including a rare type of Irish Moss.

The Cannery suffered damage in a winter storm surge in January 2004 and has since undergone repairs. Today, the site offers not only a glimpse into the intriguing history of the importance of the inshore fishery to PEI, but also has beautiful sea vistas, a boardwalk to sandy beaches, and an opportunity to learn about the unique ecosystem of the area.

Source: PEI Heritage Places Files, PEI Department of Fisheries, Tourism, Sport and Culture, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8

File #: 4320-20/T1

Character‑defining elements

The following character-defining elements illustrate the heritage value of the Cannery at Basin Head Fisheries Museum:

  • the overall massing of the building with its wood frame construction projecting out into the harbour and supported by wooden pilings
  • the wood shingle cladding on the exterior walls and roof of the building
  • the sloping gabled roof with its pair of projecting dormers on either side of the roof, all having rectangular six-over-six windows
  • the five solid wooden doors opening onto the harbour side of the building
  • the fenestration of the windows and doors on the gable ends of the building
  • the several sheds backing onto the building from the shore
  • the centrally placed wooden ventilator with its gable roof
  • the location of the Cannery as part of the Basin Head Fisheries Museum

End of the register’s text

Location

336 Basin Head Road, Basin Head, Prince Edward Island, C0A, Canada

46.37859° N, 62.10909° W

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From the Canadian Register of Historic Places, as last updated on December 12, 2025. The register’s text is shown word for word.