Welcome, bienvenue, she:kon
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We invite everyone to visit, explore and browse through our fine archives and collections of marine books, our art gallery, ship models and displays. We hold very extensive collections on yachting, the mercantile marine, navies, aeronautics, military subjects, the Arctic and First Nations, biographies, and local and Great Lakes history at the Naval Marine Archive The Canadian Collection™.
Look, listen and learn is the way we all move forward. If you can visit, we will ensure that your time spent with us is enjoyable – but even at distance we can point you in the right direction.
An easy explanation goes a long way - when it's hands-on...
Our Marine Art exhibitions
The 42nd annual exhibiton of the Canadian Society of Marine Artists, with a general theme of Canadian Sovereignty on the Waters opens Saturday the 3rd May 2025. This exhibition of the Canadian Society of Marine Artists makes maritime history come alive. A number of members paintings are available for viewing in slide shows here ... by selecting your favourite artists.
Our Nelsonian Display
HMS Victory is the centrepiece of our gallery. A number of models of HMS Victory including a half model and a cross section highlight Admiral Lord Nelson's flagship. Displays of memorabilia compliment our Nelsonian collections. Many of our books concerning Admiral Lord Nelson are located in our ground floor reading room, and you may browse them in our library catalogue here.
Our ships list
Our ships database was developed to assist researchers; it contains mostly Canadian ships, but also many ships that were foreign built but traded regularly with Canada, or were sold to Canadian owners. Where available, further details of owners, masters, builders and voyages are also included. The database has been compiled from multiple sources – including Tom Tumilty's shipwreck research and the Canadian Heritage Information Network's previous heritage list.
Books for Sale
Specialized books are available for sale for your enjoyment. Visit our newly updated listing featuring: yachting, navy, modelling, biography, aviation, military, art, novels and Canadiana. New pages illustrating selections have been added for your viewing.
While most of our books are in the reference library, we do have many duplicates that we make available for sale. These include some fairly rare titles such as a 1st edition of F.W. Wallace's Record of Canadian Shipping, 1786 - 1920 and several volumes in the Anatomy of the Ship series, down to very affordable, fun reading – such as Hornblower's adventures – at less than a dollar each. Please browse our used books.
Virtual Victory Kids
The summer 2022 Virtual Victory Kids program is now over, but all the material – videos, demonstrations and home projcts – is available for streaming or download. Some of the videos, particularly those for the Great Lakes and Marine Life have been expanded for an older audience. We wish to thank the Ontario Trillium Foundation for major funding of this project.
Thank you for your continuing support. Any financial donations will receive a charitable donation receipt for taxation purposes. Please join us in celebrating and preserving our history, and support us with any help you are able to give.
