Aids to Navigation

This was the first lighthouse built along the St. Lawrence. It became operational in 1809.

It stands on the north shore of the island.

At first, cannons were used as fog signals when visibility was poor. The first cannon arrived on the island in 1856, and the second was added a few years later.

Transcription

(Music. Aerial view of the lighthouse station on Île Verte. Pilot Jean Cloutier stands in front of the lighthouse keeper’s house and talks about his profession and the Île Verte lighthouse.) I’m a pilot on the St. Lawrence, and I’m part of the Corporation of Lower St. Lawrence Pilots. I pilot vessels between Les Escoumins and Quebec City and on the Saguenay River. (Images of the St. Lawrence Estuary seen from the north shore of Île Verte.) My father before me was also a pilot. I didn’t really have a choice. I heard about boats all my life, so I followed in my father’s footsteps. (Pilot Jean Cloutier stands in front of the lighthouse keeper’s house.) As a hobby, I also take care of lighthouses, especially the lighthouse here on Île Verte. (View of a rock with the Île Verte lighthouse in the background. Music.)

(Music) I ended up taking care of the Île Verte lighthouse by accident. (Pilot Jean Cloutier stands in front of the lighthouse keeper’s house.) It was a real accident—I had a slipped disk. So I had to stop working as a pilot for eight months. Back then, here on Île Verte, (View of Île Verte from the water. Then, we see the fog signal building with a sign indicating the year 1949.) a man was taking care of the site, but the municipality didn’t renew the lease. (Pilot Jean Cloutier stands in front of the lighthouse keeper’s house.) They asked my father-in-law to put some whale bones in the fog alarm building, and other bits of marine animals. He asked if he could continue furnishing the museum. Since I wasn’t working that winter, my father-in-law asked me to do some research on Île Verte so we could set up part of the building. My research went well, and in the spring, I told my father-in-law to put his bones somewhere else. I took over the whole building. (A red and white sign on a wooden building with the word lighthouse and the date 1809. Then, we see a model of the lighthouse and surrounding buildings.) That’s when I started, in 1998. Since then, the museum has grown. I made some acquisitions, I brought back some objects, and I interviewed lighthouse keepers. (Various lamps in a building.) That got me interested in other lighthouses along the St. Lawrence, so I wrote about those lighthouses also. (Pilot Jean Cloutier stands in front of the lighthouse keeper’s house.) I’m Vice-President of the Corporation of Lighthouse Managers of the St. Lawrence. (Sample newsletter on the lighthouses of the St. Lawrence, featuring a photo of a lighthouse.) Twice a year, we send out a newsletter about lighthouses. I’m in charge of that. (Cover of a book, featuring a reproduction of a painting of the lightship Red Islet #3.) Recently, I collaborated with my friend Jean-Pierre Charest on a book about St. Lawrence lightships. (Music. Pilot Jean Cloutier stands in front of the lighthouse keeper’s house.) This is the site of the first lighthouse on the St. Lawrence, which was first lit in 1809. (Old black and white photo of the Île Verte lighthouse.) It’s the second-oldest functioning lighthouse in Canada. The oldest is Sambro lighthouse at the entrance to Halifax Harbour. (Red and white striped lighthouse on a rocky island.) It’s the third oldest lighthouse in Canada that is still standing. (Pilot Jean Cloutier stands in front of the lighthouse keeper’s house.) The Gibraltar Point lighthouse facing Toronto is older by one year, but its light was turned off in 1956. So this is where it all started, (Aerial view of the Île Verte lighthouse station.) when it comes to maritime safety on the St. Lawrence. (Music)

(Music) We’re on the site of the first lighthouse on the St. Lawrence. (View of a red and white lighthouse and a house, with two cannons in the foreground.) The next to be built was the Pointe-des-Monts lighthouse, 29 years later. The Trinity House of Quebec, (Coat of arms featuring an anchor in the middle.) which managed the lighthouse, did not have the means to build another before then. Pointe-des-Monts was the second lighthouse on the St. Lawrence, but not the second light. (Pilot Jean Cloutier stands in front of the lighthouse keeper’s house.) In the spring of the same year, a lightship was used to illuminate the Saint-Roch traverse. (Illustration of a red lightship with "Lower traverse” inscribed in white.) A lightship is a ship with a beacon that was anchored to a shoal, where they couldn’t build a lighthouse because they didn’t have the technology to build on shoals out in the water. (Pilot Jean Cloutier stands in front of the lighthouse keeper’s house.) Later, as technology advanced, many lightships were replaced by pillar lights. There’s the Île Blanche pillar light, (A lighthouse in the middle of the water.) the Prairie pillar light on Île aux Coudres, (A lighthouse on a small rocky islet.) and the Prince Shoal light (A lighthouse completely surrounded by fog.) at the mouth of the Saguenay. All three of these lights were built in places previously lit by lightships. (Music)

(Music. Pilot Jean Cloutier stands in front of the lighthouse keeper’s house.) We wrote a book about St. Lawrence lightships. We discovered all sorts of things, because little has been written on this topic. For instance, we had always heard that the first lightships in North America were in the States. But we discovered that, in fact, the first lightship in North America was in Lake Saint-Pierre. Here in the Lower St. Lawrence, the first lightship was set up on the Saint-Roch traverse in front of Saint-Jean-Port-Joli. It was first anchored there in 1830. (Illustration of a red lightship with "Lower traverse" inscribed in white. Music.)

(Music) In the time of the lightships, there was no navigation in winter. (Pilot Jean Cloutier stands in front of the lighthouse keeper’s house.) The river was frozen from mid-November until late spring. They would bring out the lightship in spring, generally in April, (Illustration of a grey and yellow lightship with sails and two lantern masts.) once the ice had melted and emptied out from Lake Saint-Pierre, since ice jams from the lake could float downstream and destroy everything in their path. (Pilot Jean Cloutier stands in front of the lighthouse keeper’s house.) As soon as that danger had passed, the lightships would be moved into position, and their crew would stay aboard for the entire navigation season. It could last until the end of November, when the last ocean-going ships left Quebec City for the sea. They often had to come back up the river. They’d try to do it under their own power, but most of the time they were towed by government-owned vessels (Three lightships being towed with cables.) to their winter berths in the Port of Quebec, either in Louise Basin or at other wharves. (Music)

(Music) Life on board was difficult. They had to replenish their stores of food and drinking water. (Pilot Jean Cloutier stands in front of the lighthouse keeper’s house.) The captain would be sub-contracted by the Department of Marine and Fisheries. The government would allot a certain sum to pay for the men’s salaries and their food. There was no refrigeration on board the ship. When weather permitted, the captain would take a boat to the shore to get fresh food and come back with it. (Men unload crates on a rocky shore.) As for drinking water, it was supplied by the government. When they brought coal for the fog whistles, they would also fill up the water tanks. (A steamboat draws alongside another boat. Music.)

(Music. Pilot Jean Cloutier stands in front of the lighthouse keeper’s house.) There’s a whole system governing light intensity. When seamen arrived from across the ocean, the first light they would see on the shore had to be the most powerful. These lighthouses, like the one on Cap-des-Rosiers, would often be equipped with a first-order lens. (Top of a lighthouse with a red lantern.) That’s the most powerful light we have on shore. (Pilot Jean Cloutier stands in front of the lighthouse keeper’s house.) This was important because sailors would cross the Atlantic by dead reckoning, and it was important to take a true bearing as they neared land. After ships entered the gulf, lighthouses continued to play a key role. These lighthouses were large but less powerful. There were second-order lights, then third-order lights. Almost all the lights along the coast here, on the Gaspé Peninsula and Anticosti Island, were third-order lights. For example, the Métis, (Red and white lighthouse on a cape.) Pointe-au-Père and Bicquette lighthouses. The lighthouse here on Île Verte is a fourth-order light. Here, the river grows narrower. (Aerial view of Île Verte.) Starting here and along the southern channel, it’s all fourth-order lighthouses. The more you go inland, the less powerful the lights are. (Pilot Jean Cloutier stands in front of the lighthouse keeper’s house.) After Île aux Coudres, there’s a whole different system. There they use leading lights. These are a pair of beacons lined up behind each other, with one higher than the other. (Two red towers with a black vertical line in the middle next to each other on a mountainous shoreline.) When they are aligned, they indicate the middle of the channel. There are leading lights along almost all routes between Île aux Coudres and Montreal. (Music)

(Music. Pilot Jean Cloutier stands in front of the lighthouse keeper’s house.) Île Verte was the site of the first lighthouse on the St. Lawrence. Peter Fraser, the island’s first inhabitant, bought the land in 1796 from Seigneur Côté, the owner of the entire region. At the time, he made a suggestion to the warden. He was a pilot, and he had participated in various lighthouse salvage operations. He suggested setting up a system of navigational aids, including beacons and buoys. (Black and white illustration of a lighthouse.) Over the following years, it became a reality. They even placed beacons here on Île Verte in 1785, 1786 and 1787 to demonstrate that a navigation light could save ships and sailors. (Pilot Jean Cloutier stands in front of the lighthouse keeper’s house.) When the Trinity House of Quebec was founded in 1805, their first project was to build a lighthouse here on Île Verte. (Aerial view of the Île Verte lighthouse topped with a red lantern. Music.)

(Music. Pilot Jean Cloutier stands in front of the lighthouse keeper’s house.) The lighthouse is around 40 feet tall and looks like it is made of wood. But it was originally a stone lighthouse. The wooden siding was added in the 1850s to protect the stonework. (Model showing two men building the top of a stone lighthouse.) At the time it used a catoptric reflector system. (Concave reflective surfaces placed behind lamps.) In the early 1900s, it was converted to a dioptric system, using a fourth-order Fresnel lens. (Lamp with banded lens.) This model is unique, and the lantern has a special look. (View of the lighthouse and surrounding buildings from a distance.) No other lighthouses had this type of lantern. That’s why we use it as a sort of logo, to stand out from the other lighthouses on the St. Lawrence. (Pilot Jean Cloutier stands in front of the lighthouse keeper’s house.) The second lighthouse was built at Pointe-des-Monts, and it was completely different from this lighthouse. Next, there’s the fog alarm building, a little to the west. (Small white wooden building with two large red doors.) It was built in 1945. Before that, they used cannons as a fog signal. (Two black cannons on the rocks.) The first was brought here in 1856, and the second was added a few years later. That’s what we used as fog signals in this region, (Pilot Jean Cloutier stands in front of the lighthouse keeper’s house.) until they installed a new system involving a counterweighted pole attached to a tripod. Every 15 minutes, a powder cartridge would be fired. (A long pole extending over the water is attached to a wooden building with a cable.) This system was set up in 1894 and remained in operation until the foghorn was installed in 1945. Nowadays, there are no more fog signals in operation on the St. Lawrence. (A red fog horn lies on the floor of a building alongside other objects.) They’ve all been turned off over the past 10 years. (Music)

(Music. Pilot Jean Cloutier stands in front of the lighthouse keeper’s house.) Another building on the site is a shed used as a garage by the last lighthouse keeper, Armand Lafrance. (Red and white wooden building.) He demolished the barn to build it. There used to be a large barn here because, in addition to taking care of the lighthouse, the keeper also had to eat. (Pilot Jean Cloutier stands in front of the lighthouse keeper’s house.) There was a farm here, with a pigsty, a barn, horses, cows and all that. As of the ‘60s, the farm was no longer useful, but the keeper still had to maintain it. So he requested permission to tear it down, and salvaged the wood to build the shed, which he used as a garage for his car. Next to it is the oil shed. (White wooden building with two red doors.) That’s where all the fuel was stored. (White sign with red writing saying Oil Shed.) There was kerosene for the light, diesel for the fog horn motors, (Pilot Jean Cloutier stands in front of the lighthouse keeper’s house.) gas for the keeper’s boat. This building dates back to before 1900. Even right at the beginning, the lights were powered by whale oil. (Small stone building painted white with a red metal shingle roof.) The site also features two powder magazines. The older one was built when the first cannon was installed in 1856. (White sign with red writing saying Powder Magazine.) The second powder magazine was added when the tripod system was set up in 1894. (View of a field with two small white buildings with red roofs in the distance.) This system had two parts, an explosive and a detonator, and they had to be stored separately. (Pilot Jean Cloutier stands in front of the lighthouse keeper’s house.) Then there are the houses. (White door with red frame.) The keeper’s house behind me, built in 1959, is the largest. (White wooden house with a red roof behind a flowering rosebush.) The next year, in 1960, they tore down the old Lindsay home. (Pilot Jean Cloutier stands in front of the lighthouse keeper’s house.) The assistant keeper’s house was built that same year. Why were there two houses? Along the St. Lawrence, assistant keepers used to live with the keeper’s family. (White sign with red writing saying Assistant Lightkeeper’s House.) But then the lighthouse keepers’ association was formed, and they had some demands. (Pilot Jean Cloutier stands in front of the lighthouse keeper’s house.) One of these was for assistant keepers to have their own houses (White house with red roof behind a large flowering rosebush.) and live with their wives and children.

This is the third house inhabited by a lighthouse keeper. Before it, there were two other houses. (Pilot Jean Cloutier stands in front of the lighthouse keeper’s house.) When Mr. Hambleton, the first keeper, arrived in 1809, he built a small house very close to the lighthouse. We found the foundations a few years ago, while burying power lines. When he passed away in 1827, he was replaced by the first Lindsay, Robert-Noël Lindsay. He requested a new house. He wanted a stone house. But at the time, they were building the second lighthouse on the St. Lawrence, at Pointe-des-Monts. It was all made of stone, and it was a big expense for the Trinity House. (Black and white photo showing a wooden house connected to a lighthouse.) He was granted permission to build a stone foundation and a wooden house. It was home to four generations of Lindsays. (Music)

(Music) It’s important to go interview the last lighthouse keepers, their families, their wives and their children, to collect their stories. (Pilot Jean Cloutier stands in front of the lighthouse keeper’s house.) I’m doing a lot of work on that these days. I’ve been collecting their stories for some 20 years but I’m going to keep going. We’re going to try to put a book together using all that material. Tell their stories. (View of the estuary from inside the lantern room at the top of the lighthouse, near the light.) It’s not just about the history of lighting systems. People lived their lives here. Each station was its own vibrant community. Those are the stories I want to tell. It’s part of our history. (Music)

(Music. Pilot Jean Cloutier stands in front of the lighthouse keeper’s house.) The St. Lawrence runs through the history of Quebec and Canada. Without safe navigation on the St. Lawrence, there would have been no emigration to Quebec City. There would have been no transportation to Quebec City. It might not even have become the capital. The capital might be Gaspé. Waves of lighthouse construction often took place following advances in illumination technology. (View of a lighthouse shining in the distance at dusk.) But they were also built for economic reasons, to keep up with the United States. Lighthouses were built during the 1840s as a direct response to (Pilot Jean Cloutier stands in front of the lighthouse keeper’s house.) the construction of the Erie Canal, which made it possible to reach the Great Lakes from New York. We had to make the river as safe as possible, so our economy could grow and immigration could continue. These lighthouses bear witness to the entire history of Quebec and Canada. (Music. View of the estuary at sunset, with a chain of mountains in the distance.)

In response to pressure from Montreal merchants and shipowners to make the St. Lawrence safer for navigation, the Trinity House of Quebec decided to place lightships near dangerous shoals to signal their presence. The lightships indicated the navigable limits of the channel. In 1816, the first lightship in North America was anchored in the middle of Lake Saint-Pierre, 4 km south-east of the Petite Rivière du Loup. In 1828, a second lightship was placed in the western section of the lake, 4.83 km from Île Plate. The shallow waters of Lake Saint-Pierre nonetheless remained an obstacle to navigation until dredging operations began in 1844.

In 1856, the two lightships on Lake Saint-Pierre were replaced by iron ships and a third lightship was added in the eastern part of the lake, on the south side of the small crossing at the Rivière du Loup. All three ships had red hulls, with a number painted on them in white. Lightship No. 1 was at the western end of the lake, No. 2 was in the middle, and No. 3, the last to be placed, was in the east. These lightships were fitted with a lighting system on top of a mast. During the day, a red wooden sphere would be placed on the mast.

The Department of Marine and Fisheries overhauled all three lightships in 1891. Instead of a mast, the new model featured a small red and white octagonal tower, resembling a lighthouse.

The lantern of this lightship resembles a lighthouse, and is held up by a tripod. Salt from the spray would build up on the glass of the lantern, blocking the light, so the crew had to clean the glass frequently to keep it transparent and allow the light to pass through.

Other lightships had lights placed atop their two masts. Life on board was often very difficult, as these boats would move a lot while at anchor. The pitching and rolling put seamen to the test. There was also a high risk that other ships would collide with the lightship during storms, when visibility was severely restricted.

This lightship was of the same type as the later model lightships used on Lake Saint-Pierre.

Lightships were fitted with foghorns to alert other vessels to their presence in conditions of low visibility.

This lighthouse on the North Shore was put into service in 1830. The old keeper's house has now been converted into an inn. Visitors can take a look at the lighthouse and see an exhibition on the history of the station that focuses on the lives of the seven keepers who maintained it between 1830 and 1964.

This stone lighthouse was once covered in wood siding to protect the stonework from harsh weather conditions. It was built at Pointe-Sud-Ouest on Anticosti Island in 1831. The location was chosen by the Trinity House of Quebec at the same time as the location of the Pointe-des-Monts lighthouse. It was the first of seven lighthouses to be built on the island, and was fitted with the first revolving light on the St. Lawrence. During the 1950s, a skeleton tower bearing an automated light was installed not far from the lighthouse. In 1958, fire ravaged the keeper's house and severely damaged the top of the lighthouse. All the buildings around the lighthouse were torn down in 1984.

The first lighthouse on this escarpment on Anticosti Island was built in 1871. In 1906, the Department of Marine and Fisheries of Canada noted that the station's equipment needed to be updated. A second lighthouse, made of reinforced concrete, was therefore built in 1912. The new lighthouse was similar to the Pointe-au-Père lighthouse, with a central tower held up by flying buttresses. Today, the lantern room has been destroyed and no outbuildings remain. Navigators now rely on a skeleton tower, whose lighting system has been automated since 1963.

The Department of Marine and Fisheries of Canada decided to build a navigational assistance station here to improve safety along the north shore of Anticosti Island. The many small islands in the Jacques Cartier Strait made this passage particularly hazardous. The lighthouse was built between 1917 and 1919. The site also featured a fog signal building and the keeper's house. The house was replaced by two newer houses in the 1950s. The lighthouse has been automated since the 1970s.

This lighthouse was built on a rocky islet off Saint-Jean-Port-Joli in 1843. Its cylindrical tower, made of stone imported from Scotland, is topped with a gallery and a red lantern. The lighthouse was automated in 1960. Its location on an island in the estuary was selected to allow its beacon to warn navigators away from the dangerous reefs. It also marks the location of the river's Southern Channel, the route used by most ships when this lighthouse was built.

This lighthouse, built in 1844, indicates the position of an island in the St. Lawrence. Originally, the keeper used two cannons as an audible signal to supplement the beacon when visibility was poor. In 1889, the cannons gave way to a foghorn. The keeper's house was rebuilt in the late 1950s, and another house was added for the assistant keeper. A skeleton tower was later installed, and this navigational assistance station has been automated since 1981.

Île Bicquette is part of the Îles de l'Estuaire National Wildlife Area (NWA), which protects the nesting sites of seabirds like the Common Eider. It has been closed to visitors since the 1980s.

Built in 1848, this lighthouse is located on a rocky islet 12 km off Tadoussac, in an area where navigation is very hazardous. It is made of Scottish stone and English brick. The tower is encircled by a series of stone stringcourses that divert rainwater from the joints of the masonry. The lighthouse was not automated until 1988. When the sky is clear and the humidity of the air is low, its silhouette can be seen from Île Verte.

This lighthouse was built atop a 15-metre tall cliff between 1853 and 1858. It was officially lit for the first time on March 15, 1858. Its lantern stands atop a 34-metre high tower, making it the tallest lighthouse in Canada. In 1984, the original brick facing of this stone tower was replaced by white marble.

On a clear night, this light can be seen from nearly 40 km away. It directs navigators to the mouth of the St. Lawrence. The beacon was once fuelled by whale oil, then converted to kerosene. Later, electric lights were installed. This lighthouse is now entirely automated.

The first Pointe-au-Père lighthouse became operational in 1859. It was made of wood and consisted of an octagonal tower built atop a house. It used a catoptric system made up of a lamp and a parabolic reflector, which focused the light into parallel horizontal bands. The first lighthouse was destroyed by fire in 1867, but a similar lighthouse was quickly built in the same spot.

In 1909, a third lighthouse was built out of reinforced concrete. It replaced the old wooden lighthouse. It was fitted with a dioptric system made up of a lamp and a lens, which was more powerful than the old reflection-based system. Its beacon could be seen from over 30 km away.

This lighthouse, which is still standing, has an unusual architecture. Its octagonal central tower is reinforced by eight flying buttresses. In 1975, a skeleton tower was installed and the lighthouse was automated.

Various audible signals were tested at the Pointe-au-Père lighthouse station before being rolled out to other stations along the St. Lawrence at the beginning of the 20th century.

This lighthouse was put into service in 1862 and abandoned in 1964. Société Duvetnor, an organization devoted to protecting the Common Eider and its habitat, began to restore the site in 1989, then took over its ownership in 2014. The organization has developed this magnificent site into an ecotourism destination. Visitors can explore the site and stay in the keeper's house.

Société Duvetnor harvests a portion of the down from the each eider nest. This down is cleaned and sterilized, then sold to wholesale companies that supply quilt and outdoor wear manufacturers. Profits from the eiderdown have allowed Duvetnor to purchase, protect and enhance several islands in the estuary and maintain its ecotourism program.

The original lighthouse, made of wood, was first lit in 1871. Today, four buildings surround the lighthouse: the keeper's house, the assistant keeper's house, a shed and the fog signal building.

Around 1892, a building was erected for the fog whistle. In 1907, another building was added to house a diaphone. Since 1972, the diaphone has been operated by a fully automated electric system.

The first wooden lighthouse had a revolving catoptric lighting apparatus with silver-plated copper reflectors placed behind the lamps. Around 1907, the original lighthouse had to be torn down as it could not accommodate or support the new dioptric lighting apparatus. It was replaced by a cylindrical reinforced concrete lighthouse.

The dioptric lighting system used a single lamp placed at the centre of a cylindrical lens, which beamed light in all directions. This type of system required a very large lens to focus the light, until Augustin-Jean Fresnel invented a new type of grooved lens known as a Fresnel lens. This lens was divided into concentric rings, greatly reducing its weight. The Fresnel lens is still used today.

Build in 1871, then rebuilt in 1960, this is the oldest and tallest lighthouse in the Magdalen Islands. It is also known as the Millerand lighthouse or the Île-du-Havre-Aubert lighthouse. It features a wooden octagonal tower. After 1871, this style of lighthouse was no longer built. Instead, square lighthouses were favoured, as they were cheaper and easier to build. This lighthouse safeguards the maritime corridor of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

The first lighthouse on the western shore of Île du Cap-aux-Meules was built in 1874. It was a two-story wooden house with a lantern on top, and also served as a house for the keeper and his family. The building was restored in 1913, then torn down in 1967 and replaced by a metal tower. Starting in the 1970s, lighthouses along the St. Lawrence were automated.

With automation, the keeper's house was no longer needed. In 1987, the metal structure was replaced by the current lighthouse, which is the newest of the five lighthouses still in use on the Magdalen Islands. The Étang-du-Nord lighthouse is also known as the Borgot lighthouse or the Cap-aux-Meules lighthouse.

The first lighthouse at Métis-sur-Mer was put into service on October 20, 1874. A telegraph was installed in November 1879. In 1909, this small wooden lighthouse was replaced by a white tower made of reinforced concrete. This stronger tower was able to support a more powerful, and much heavier, lantern. In 1918, the station was equipped with a diaphone to serve as an audible warning signal in foggy conditions. The dioptric lighting apparatus was replaced by an incandescent electric bulb in 1961.

This lighthouse remains operational because the town maintains its lamp. However, it is no longer used as a navigational aid. The site is difficult to access, as it is at the end of a private road.

The original lighthouse, built in 1880, was attached to the wooden keeper's house. The site is located near L'Anse-à-Valleau on the Gaspé Peninsula. In June 1904, engineers from the Canadian subsidiary of the Marconi company installed the first maritime radio station in North America here. A second lighthouse was built in 1907. The materials used were very innovative for the time: the exterior of the tower was made of prefabricated iron panels, cast from the same mold. In 1967, the lighthouse was moved to the Port of Quebec, where it remained for 20 years. It was brought back home in 1997 and installed in its previous location. The Marconi station was reconstructed in 1998, and the original keeper's house with its lighthouse in 2001. Today, this historic site has become a popular destination for tourists.

The first navigational assistance station on this island was built in 1888. It was a wooden house with a lantern on top. This island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, which is part of the Mingan Archipelago, owes its name (which means Parrot Island) to an error in identification. The colourful Atlantic Puffins that are common on the island were once mistaken for parrots.

In 1951, the original lighthouse was replaced by an octagonal concrete tower. The keeper's house has been converted into a lodge, allowing visitors to stay on the island.

In 1981, the lighthouse was automated and a keeper was no longer needed.

The original wooden lighthouse, built in 1876, was attached to the keeper's house. In the early 1900s, the Department of Marine and Fisheries began upgrading the lighting systems used in lighthouses. A second octagonal wooden tower, capable of supporting a large dioptric lens, was therefore built in 1906. The keeper's house and the old lighthouse were torn down in 1925.

This lighthouse station was located in a village, making life much easier for the keeper and his family. They were not isolated and could get supplies from merchants in the village.

The station's buildings and the lighthouse itself are painted nearly entirely red, giving the site its own special appeal.

This lighthouse was built in 1906, at the upstream end of Île du Moine in the Lake Saint-Pierre Archipelago. It has a square foundation. Originally, there were two lighthouses used as front and rear range lights. In the 1950s, the rear range lighthouse was destroyed by fire and replaced with a steel skeleton tower. Today, the remaining lighthouse and the tower serve as range lights, helping pilots stay on course in the shipping channel. To do so, pilots have to align the black vertical bar on the lighthouse with the one on the skeleton tower.

This pillar lighthouse alerts navigators to the presence of a shoal at the south-west end of Île aux Coudres. It also indicates the shipping channel. A lightship once played the same role, but because this spot was very hazardous for navigation, a pillar lighthouse was built to replace it. The first lighthouse was built in 1931. It was a large reinforced concrete pillar, solidly anchored to the riverbed. A two-story building stood atop the pillar. Floating ice carried on the tides gradually damaged the base, so a second pillar was built next to the first in 1972. This pillar is made of steel and shaped like an inverted funnel. The first pillar was then demolished.

In 1873, the Department of Marine and Fisheries built a lighthouse atop a cliff 15 km from Percé to help ensure a safe navigable route through the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The lighthouse was also intended as a way marker for ships entering Chaleur Bay. The original wooden lighthouse was torn down in 1939 and replaced by an octagonal reinforced concrete tower. It has been automated since 1987. Today, vacationers who want to spend some time in this magnificent place can rent the keeper's house and the assistant keeper's house.

This impressive pillar lighthouse, nicknamed "La Toupie" (The Top), was built in 1964. It stands atop the Prince Shoal, where the Saguenay meets the St. Lawrence Estuary. For some 60 years before the pillar was built, a series of four lightships were placed here as floating beacons. They helped make this part of the river, with its ever-shifting currents and frequent fog banks, safer for navigation.

To ensure the stability of the lighthouse's metal base, a steel-reinforced stone foundation was dug deep into the riverbed.

The British Hydrographic Office named this shoal to commemorate an accident that took place on August 18, 1860. The frigate HMS Hero ran aground on this shoal. Prince Edward, son of Queen Victoria, was among the passengers. He was bound for Montreal to attend the inauguration of the Victoria Bridge on August 25. Luckily, the frigate was successfully freed from the shoal.

This government ship was used to maintain and transport gas buoys on the St. Lawrence between Montreal and Kingston. Gas buoys were used on the river starting in the late 19th century. The use of various types of gas to illuminate buoys and lighthouses meant that they had to be serviced on a regular basis.

In 1906, a tragic event occurred aboard the Scout, when three buoys filled with acetylene gas exploded on the deck. The captain and three crew members were killed. The vessel was later repaired, and remained in service until 1934.

Buoys were removed from the river around November 25 to prevent them from being destroyed or carried off by the ice.

The Canadian Coast Guard is responsible for keeping shipping routes safe and accessible. Among other things, they are tasked with maintaining and storing buoys. In winter, from early November to late April, the lighted buoys that indicate the limits of the shipping channel between Montreal and Quebec are removed. They are replaced with a smaller number of unlighted buoys, which are placed only in the most critical sections, along one side of the channel.

There are several different kinds of buoys. The most common are green port buoys and red starboard buoys. They indicate which side ships should pass on in order to remain in deep water. When going upriver, vessels must keep the red buoys on their starboard side and the green buoys on their port side.