Backgrounder

From the Prime Minister's Web Site (http://www.pm.gc.ca/)

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Changing the sails at Canada Place

Canada's Economic Action Plan

February 21, 2011
Vancouver, British Columbia

Located in the heart of Vancouver's downtown harbour front, Canada Place is an inspiring national landmark welcoming local residents, visitors and over 900,000 cruise ship passengers yearly to the West Coast. With its distinctive sailed roof, the facility serves as a symbol of national pride, and is a gathering place for over three million guests annually. It was also home to the main Press Centre during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Designed to represent an ocean liner under full sail, the original sailed roof was erected in 1984 as the Canada Pavilion for Expo '86. After two and a half decades, the roof and its fabric sails exceeded their expected lifespan and required replacing.

A dynamic, multipurpose facility with striking views of Burrard Inlet, Coal Harbour, Stanley Park and the North Shore Mountains, Canada Place provides guests with the ultimate Canadian experience. It is home to the Vancouver Convention Centre East, the Pan Pacific Hotel and the Port Metro Vancouver Cruise Ship Terminal. The facility is also host to a number of annual community events such as Canada Day, the Burrard Inlet Fireworks Show, Remembrance Day and Christmas at Canada Place.

Funded through the Economic Action Plan's Infrastructure Stimulus Fund, the roof rehabilitation project involves replacing the sails with new tension fabric that mimics the specifications of the original design. The new sails are expected to last 30 years, and will continue to provide a spectacular welcome to local residents, ship passengers and visitors to Vancouver and the West Coast.

The roof replacement project – made possible by a two-year, $21 million funding contribution through the Economic Action Plan's Infrastructure Stimulus Fund – is helping to ensure that Canada Place remains a viable hub of economic activity in the Vancouver area for decades to come.

Construction on the new roof – which includes replacing the sails with new tension fabric that mimics the specifications of the original design – began in July 2010 and will be fully complete by the end of March 2011. The roof, along with its new sails, is expected to last 30 years.

A key component of Canada's Economic Action Plan, the $4 billion Infrastructure Stimulus Fund is supporting nearly 4,000 infrastructure projects across the country, including more than 400 in British Columbia.

Thanks to the Economic Action Plan, more than 26,000 projects throughout Canada are currently underway or completed. Since its launch in 2009, Canada's Economic Action Plan has contributed to the creation of more than 460,000 jobs and has helped the country emerge from the global economic crisis faster and stronger than most major industrialized countries around the world.

For more information on Canada's Economic Action Plan, please visit: www.actionplan.gc.ca.

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The Prime Minister's Office - Communications
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