Diving in Canada: Cold Water, Belugas and a Country Full of Wrecks
Canada is not the place most divers picture when they book a trip. And yet: 240,000 km of coastline, an estimated two million lakes, and whole regions where the invertebrate life is the reason people keep going back.
The divers who know it best are mostly the ones who live there. They drive to the Thousand Islands for a weekend of wrecks, or fly to Port Hardy for walls of colour, or go to Churchill to get in the water with belugas.
The water is cold pretty well everywhere. That is the trade, and what you get for it is wrecks in fresh water that look barely touched, big animals, and dive sites you often have to yourself.
British Columbia
The Pacific side is about cold water, wrecks and large sea life. Porteau Cove Provincial Park sits on the Howe Sound fjord, 38 km north of Vancouver, with a series of artificial reefs including two sunken vessels. It is the kind of place you can dive on a whim after work.
Vancouver Island splits in two. The south has interesting dives, sometimes with large mammals. The north has the extraordinary invertebrate diving, particularly around Browning Pass and God's Pocket, with boats generally leaving from Port Hardy.
Belugas at Churchill
Churchill, Manitoba is the most up-close way to see belugas anywhere. Most tourists are not mentally fortified to jump into a cold river full of whales, which tells you something about the experience.
Scuba diving is permitted, but there are no guides who will take you out, so you bring your own equipment to Churchill. Tanks can be filled at the hospital. Two boating tour companies run snorkelling instead: Sea North, in wet suits, July to August, and Lazy Bear Lodge, whose three-hour tour is done in dry suits.
Ontario, where the wrecks are
If Canada has a diving heartland, this is it. The Thousand Islands pack in a high density of dive sites with plenty of shops and charters, and Canadian boats frequently reach American sites too. Charters crossing to wrecks in American waters clear customs at Boldt Castle in Alexandria Bay. The water there generally reaches 70°F, or 21°C, in August.
Names you will hear on the boat: Kinghorn, Muscallonge, Henry C Daryaw, Robert Gaskin, Ash Island Barge, Lillie Parsons and John B. King. On the St. Lawrence River itself there is the Conestoga, which is shore accessible, and the Eastcliffe Hall.
Operators in the Thousand Islands area include Dive Tech at 1624 Country Rd 2 in Mallorytown, which is amenable to technical divers, the Brockville Adventure Centre, and Thousand Island Pleasure Diving.
Sarnia and the St. Clair
The St. Clair River at Sarnia was a historic waterway, and the bottom shows it: artifacts and shipwrecks, with reasonable depth and a river that moves.
Five wrecks lie within reach of Canadian shores: the Gladstone, Fontana, Martin, Monarch and an unnamed barge. In spring, sturgeon collect at the mouth of the river. That alone is worth the drive for some people.
Tobermory and Fathom Five
Tobermory is sometimes called the scuba diving capital of Canada, sitting right next to Fathom Five National Marine Park. Every diver has to register, which you can do yourself at the Parks Canada Visitor Centre, and the marine park has some local rules worth reading before you go.
Charters run through the local shops, G+S Watersports at 8 Bay St. and Diver's Den at 3 Bay St. The wreck list is long: Alice G, the Tugs, Sweepstakes, City of Grand Rapids, James C. King, W. L. Wetmore, Philo Scoville, Newaygo, Charles P. Minch, Arabia, City of Cleveland, San Jacinto, Marion L. Brek and Forest City.
Sweepstakes is the famous one, and the shore around it is privately owned, so you reach her by boat. Grates have been fitted to keep divers out of the interior. Nearby, The Anchor and The Lighthouse round out the classics, the latter a shore access site with a maximum depth of 75 ft.
Two practical notes the locals will appreciate you knowing. The Lighthouse and Little Cove both sit beside cottages, so respect the tenants' privacy and stay off private property. Little Cove has very little parking, so carpool, drop your gear and move the car away from the site.
Out in Lake Huron proper there is also the Wexford.
The Niagara River and Peninsula
This is the quirky corner. Frenchman's Creek Barge is purportedly a wreck from the War of 1812, and in shallow water only the ribs remain. Park on the east side of the Frenchman's Creek bridge and walk in from the lot.
The Welland River has multiple entries, including Kingsbridge Park, the east Portage Road bridge abutment and a public dock west of the bridge. Underwater you pass old bridge abutments around Norton Street and Dock Street, then a pair of cars. Most people exit at the Chippawa Public Boat Ramp. Boat traffic is heavy in season, thanks to the ramp and the marina at the Lyons Creek fork.
Thompson's Hole is the deepest part of the upper Niagara River, with multiple unidentified wrecks along the drift. Divers usually finish at the Fort Erie Underwater Rescue Unit or the Courtwright Street Train Bridge. Parking is at Queen St and Niagara Blvd, where a sign says swimming is not permitted, though whether that gets enforced is unclear.
And then Welland Scuba Park, which has items purposefully placed down there to entertain divers. Sometimes that is exactly the dive you want.
Shops and filling up
Out west, the International Diving Centre on Arbutus Street in Vancouver does courses, rentals and service daily, Ogden Point Dive Centre sits on Dallas Road in Victoria, and Underworld Scuba and Sport is on Portage Ave in Winnipeg.
In central Canada, Toronto Scuba Centre on Spadina Ave calls itself the only fully contained training facility in downtown Toronto, and Dive World Canada is out on Lake Shore Blvd W. Dan's Dive Shop is in St. Catharines, Divers Den in Tobermory, and Dive Brockville Adventure Centre on Water Street East handles air refills.
Putting a trip together
Pick your flavour first. Wrecks in fresh water means Ontario, and August is when the Thousand Islands warm up to 21°C. Invertebrates and big animals mean British Columbia, with Port Hardy as the jumping-off point in the north. Belugas mean Churchill, in July and August if you want a snorkelling guide. The Wikivoyage guide has the site lists in full.
When you get there, log it in Scubaspot: the grates on Sweepstakes, the 75 ft at The Lighthouse, the cars on the Welland River drift, the spring sturgeon at the mouth of the St. Clair. Rate the sites, add the photos, and give the next diver something better than a name on a list. Start at scubaspot.co.