It’s a village on the threshold between what was and what will be.
Earlier this year, the massive grain elevator that dominated Port McNicoll’s waterfront came down in the name of progress.
So ended an era that began optimistically a century ago, when the Southern Georgian Bay community got its start as a major transition point in Canadian transportation.
Even as the townsfolk look eagerly to the promise of a bright future materializing on their shores from a corporate investor, Skyline International Development Inc.’s pronouncement of the “renaissance of a historic village” compels a look back, as well.
Glory Days
In its heyday, the port was heralded as the Chicago of the North, with ships and trains connecting east and west carrying wheat and passengers. It was set for growth and prosperity.
Initially built in 1910 as an initiative of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), the now-demolished concrete elevator was expanded over the years until it reached a total capacity of almost seven million bushels, with a staggering 59 million bushels transferring through the facility in 1921. A reported 165 people were employed during peak times to bring Western Canada’s wheat to points east.
A new rail line was installed to bring in construction materials and haul out wheat. As part of the overall development, a mile-long deepwater slip was constructed as the southern terminus for the Canadian Pacific’s Great Lakes passenger fleet.
People travelling cross-country made a stop in the village that was re-named Port McNicoll in honour of CPR’s David McNicoll, who oversaw the establishment of the community and what became one of the Great Lakes’ most important harbours.
It wasn’t to last.
The construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1957, together with the decline of steam technology, would take its toll until the CPR eventually cancelled its rail service in 1960, selling off its ships shortly thereafter.
The elevator closed for good in 1990, its former glory now marked by a pile of concrete debris at the water’s edge.
The adjacent community, once recognized as a centrally located and vibrant port on Canada’s key transportation route, was left behind as the preferred mode of travel shifted to the roadways.
Port McNicoll can now be found on a sideroad off Highway 12, minutes east of Midland. A few convenience stores, a couple of family restaurants and a gas station remain to take care of the remaining population.
With a population just shy of 2,000 – a number that includes many seniors and cottagers – the village has settled into a slow, quiet lifestyle. Working residents must commute for work.
“It’s more of a relaxing town,” acknowledged resident and Tay Township councillor Rick Black.
The Renaissance
Black said he welcomes the new energy and investment Skyline has already started to bring to the area, although he acknowledged there is reticence among some longtime residents.
“A lot of old people don’t want to see a change and think it’s going to go too fast,” he said. “But I’m behind it 100 per cent.”
Having been involved with the project since the beginning as a five-year veteran of council, Black knows the change won’t happen overnight, but rather over the course of a couple of decades.
“Everyone will get used to it over time,” he said. “I don’t think it’ll be a shock to anybody.”
In the meantime, the reduction of taxes and increase in local jobs will be an improvement, he added: “It’s a good thing for our town.”
Cottager Frank Ipsen, a resident of Port Hope whose family has been coming to the area for decades, said he is curious to see how the development progresses.
“It’s been asleep long enough,” the sailing enthusiast said of his chosen vacation spot. “Lots of people don’t know it’s here and don’t tend to come here on purpose.
“It’ll reinforce the village that has pretty much gone into hibernation for 10 years.”
But, as Skyline’s master plan gets implemented, not only will it change the face of the village, it will give outsiders a reason, once again, to visit these shores.
“They want to make it into a tourist place,” explained Black. “They’re basically revamping the whole town.”
Skyline’s vice-president of land development agreed with the assessment.
“It’s a different era,” said Paul Ward. “It’s more than a marketing cliché; it really is a renaissance of a forgotten village. It was a great port on the Great Lakes – the Chicago of the North – it was a bustling port. And then, in the mid-’60s, it died.”
Having purchased 830 acres of area land and water, the company is working with all levels of government and expert planners in “creating a destination village,” said Ward.
Skyline’s $1.8-billion investment is expected to be complemented by infrastructure support from government partners.
“We’re working co-operatively to ensure success on all fronts,” he said.
The development will incorporate a new main street that will connect the existing town square with the planned waterfront promenade, which is one of the many elements being planned.
“It’s a lot different than a pure residential development,” Ward explained.
Instead of planning a straightforward, high-end residential development that would cut off the town from the water and render the lots on the other side of the street unattractive, Skyline intends to build “a marine village with a waterfront for the public to enjoy.”
The master plan report talks of remediating seven miles of shoreline and incorporating “a diverse network of open spaces that are linked by paths, trails and lanes to broader regional networks like the Tay Shore Trail and Ganaraska Trail.”
“The new development at Port McNicoll will feature a vibrant village core that complements the town’s existing main street while connecting it directly to Georgian Bay,” the report continues.
“As such, residents and visitors alike will be reconnected to the water, while new housing and employment opportunities will be offered within walking distance of the existing services and neighbourhoods.”
The report, which Ward said is based on extensive study, details an overall regional plan that officials expect to create “about 10,000 jobs, about half-a-billion dollars of tax benefit and $1.2 billion to the provincial gross domestic product.”
Although there will be a residential component, which has already started, this tourist-based approach will have a “huge, huge impact,” he said, and will “drive a successful development.”
That’s the bottom line at Skyline, and it is the reason the company has taken on its largest project ever.
The strategic plan outlines a “community of custom-built homes with wrap-around verandas, full-ownership condominiums, a private marina, gardens and a high-end resort hotel and commercial enterprises.”
In addition to a preserved wetland with a protected swan nesting area, space in the mixed-use village plan has been set aside for community and civic use to be determined at a later date.
Despite the busy plans afoot downtown, only a mile or so from Port McNicoll’s Paradise Point, 22-year resident Betty Whitham isn’t likely to see the view change from her front door – and that’s just the way she likes it.
Flanked by two parks within walking distance and with a clear view of the bay across the road, Whitham tends her garden and enjoys the peacefulness of the changing seasons.
“The air is fresh, the people are friendly, and it’s a lovely place to bring your children in the summer,” she said, standing among her hostas, hydrangeas and hibiscuses.
She and husband Don, once avid snowmobilers, enjoy the winter and look forward to taking their new “bassador” puppy for walks when the weather’s nice. Both retired when the plant they worked at in Midland closed.
Now, they smile while watching the snow machines of others zip by as cottagers come back to enjoy winter pursuits, braving the chilly winds blowing in off the bay.
Back in the town centre, however, it’s the winds of change that have arrived and settled in regardless of the season.
Port McNicoll – the renaissance has begun.

Phase 1 of redevelopment completed
It’s a renaissance in the making.
Skyline International, the development company that has identified Port McNicoll as the newest shining diamond in Georgian Bay’s crown of tourist attractions, has completed Phase 1 of its $1.8-billion re-creation plan for the village.
Sixty high-end condominium lots have been severed, serviced and approved for sale, says the company’s land development vice-president, Paul Ward. Sales will determine when the homes will actually be built, but the entire project is expected to be an eight- to 10-year undertaking.
The sales centre, located on site, is now open Tuesday to Sunday.
“It’s a fairly massive undertaking,” he said.
The hotels, shops, waterfront restaurants and promenade are all part of a carefully laid-out plan researched and created by top planners and village developers from around the world.
Plans will be implemented according to a pre-determined schedule “so we don’t have a whole lot of empty stores,” Ward explained.
For more information, visit www.portmcnicoll.ca.