Reports of new marina in Oshawa premature but port authority willing to ‘explore’ idea

A marina at the Oshawa harbour after an absence of nearly a quarter-century? It could happen, though reports of the idea being actively investigated appear to be premature and perhaps wishful thinking.

Oshawa Councillor Brian Nicholson was at Wednesday evening’s HOPA Ports Report to the Community meeting at the Jubilee Pavilion on the city’s waterfront and declared the port authority, a federal agency responsible for all things harbour-related in Oshawa and Hamilton, is “starting an investigation” into operating a marina and building a new boat launch at the port lands.

“Not a done deal but some good news all the same,” he said on his socials. “It is early days yet but this announcement should warm the hearts of those who have pressed for this since the closure of the last marina. Fingers crossed.”

HOPA, however, believes Nicholson is a little quick off the mark on his statement but did not dash hopes either.

“We understand there is a desire from the community for recreational boater access via the Oshawa Harbour. It’s early to know what that could look like, but HOPA is happy to engage with the community and our municipal partners to explore how this might be accommodated,” said Larissa Fenn, HOPA Ports’ VP of Corporate Affairs.

The City of Oshawa and the federal government have been fighting over the use of the harbour lands since 2006 – 40 years after Oshawa sold 61 acres of land to Ottawa that would become the Port of Oshawa and four years after the marina that was operating at the port shut down.

In 2006 Oshawa said they wanted the lands back, leading to a protracted legal battle with the then-named Oshawa Harbour Commission that wasn’t settled until 2010 when a compromise settlement saw the city reclaim 29 acres (plus additional 19 acres of crown land), with much of that dispersal going to the eventual creation of Ed Broadbent Waterfront Park.

Relations have improved since then, especially since commission morphed into a port authority in 2012 and to the Hamilton Oshawa Port Authority in 2019.

“Working with HOPA is like night and day over the negative relationship with the previous administration at the port. They really do want to make the Port of Oshawa a signature port on the Great Lakes,” Nicholson said.

The councillor, whose ward stretches down to the lake, admits opening a marina would be difficult for the city or a private interest to do alone.

Will Oshawa get a marina back one day?

“I hope so but the economics is not positive. Too high a cost with too low an income if built alone,” he said. “Possibly as part of the larger project.”

Fenn held out a sliver of hope that it might happen one day.

“We’re looking forward to advancing the conversation.”

HOPA completed a $35+ million modernization of the port’s grain facility last year, adding 20,000 metric tonnes of storage capacity, improves access for regional farmers, streamlining deliveries and reducing travel times.

Work is also progressing on the Farewell Street and Harbour Road project, which includes reconstruction of key access routes along with stormwater, electrical, and security upgrades.

The former Oshawa Yacht Club