A LENS ON VANCOUVER'S PAST
Photography by Walter Frost
Canada Place
(1985-Present)
Completed in 1985, Canada Place with its iconic five Teflon-coated fiberglass sails is Vancouver’s premier cruise ship terminal. Situated on the site of the former Pier B-C, it welcomes over 900,000 passengers and around 290 ship calls each year. In 2001, the pier was enlarged to 1,490 ft. (455 m) so as to accommodate another cruise ship berth resulting in a three-berth terminal that can service up to four luxury cruise ships at one time.
In 2009, a shore power initiative was completed enabling cruise ships to connect to the shore-based electrical grid while docked - a significant environmental initiative at the time as it was the first installation of this type in Canada, and only the third in the world.
Canada Place is also home to the 466,500 sq. ft. (43,340 m2) Vancouver Convention Centre, the 503-room Pan Pacific Vancouver Hotel, and the corporate offices of the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (Port of Vancouver) and Vancouver World Trade Centre. On the landside, Canada Place can be reached via the SkyTrain line at the nearby Waterfront Station terminus or via West Cordova Street.
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Notable Events
SITE OF TWO ROYAL VISITS
On March 9, 1983, Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, The Right Honourable Pierre Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada and The Honourable William R. Bennett, Premier of British Columbia, initiated the first concrete pour in a caisson located at the southeast corner of Canada Place. [i] ​The Royal Couple had arrived on the HMY Britannia from Victoria that morning, mooring at Pier B-C, steps away from the construction site. After a busy itinerary in Vancouver which include inviting the world to Expo 86, the Queen hosted 56 dinner guests onboard the Royal Yacht that evening followed by a reception for 240 guests. The following morning, the Britannia departed for Nanaimo with the Royal Couple aboard as part of their four-day West Coast tour.[ii]
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Three years later during Expo 86, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales (today King Charles III), accompanied by the late Diana, Princess of Wales and The Right Honourable Brian Mulroney, Prime Minister of Canada, officially opened the Canada Pavilion at Canada Place on May 2, 1986 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.[iii] Among the largest and most elaborate pavilions presented by any nation at any World’s Fair, the Canada Pavilion hosted more than 5 million visitors in the six months that led to the October 13, 1986, closing date. The Canada Pavilion has been acknowledged as one of the best-ever host nation pavilions at a world exposition.[iv]
[i] https://www.canadaplace.ca/about-us/history/ Accessed September 11, 2022
[ii] The Vancouver Sun (Vancouver, BC: March 10, 1983) p 1
[iii] The Vancouver Sun (Vancouver, BC: May 1, 1986) p 17
[iv] https://www.canadaplace.ca/about-us/history/ Accessed September 11, 2022