Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Thesis Format

Monograph

Degree

Master of Arts

Program

History

Supervisor

Fleming, Keith

2nd Supervisor

Krats, Peter V

3rd Supervisor

Dove, Michael

Abstract

This thesis demonstrates the role of the forest products and the tourism industries as drivers of the Bruce Peninsula’s economy. This was the last wilderness region of substantial size to be opened for settlement in southern Ontario. The relatively late arrival of settlers to the peninsula and its commercial development is paralleled in the limited attention historians have given to the region. Consequently, this thesis also attempts to fill the historiographical void in academic research of the Bruce Peninsula.

The forest products industry and settlers both arrived on the peninsula in the late 1850s. This relationship was marred by conflict as they both competed to establish their place in the region. In the end, neither won, the limited quality of arable land sent many settlers westward in search of a better future and ultimately the forest products industry ceased to be more than a cottage industry supplying firewood to campers and local residents.

This thesis explores how and why tourism on the Bruce Peninsula experienced a hesitant beginning, but in the end became a thriving economic driver for the region. Its remote location, limited travel access, and lack of capital necessary to establish a flourishing industry were all factors in this slow process. Finally, governmental assistance, a renewed interest in conservation, a demand for more recreation spaces, and the region’s unique natural and human history all came together to create a viable tourism industry that today sustains the Bruce Peninsula.

Summary for Lay Audience

This thesis demonstrates the role of the forest products and the tourism industries as drivers of the Bruce Peninsula’s economy. This was the last wilderness region of substantial size to be opened for settlement in southern Ontario. The relatively late arrival of settlers to the peninsula and its commercial development is paralleled in the limited attention historians have given to the region. Consequently, this thesis also attempts to fill the historiographical void in academic research of the Bruce Peninsula.

The forest products industry and settlers both arrived on the peninsula in the late 1850s. This relationship was marred by conflict as they both competed to establish their place in the region. In the end, neither won, the limited quality of arable land sent many settlers westward in search of a better future and ultimately the forest products industry ceased to be more than a cottage industry supplying firewood to campers and local residents.

This thesis explores how and why tourism on the Bruce Peninsula experienced a hesitant beginning, but in the end became a thriving economic driver for the region. Its remote location, limited travel access, and lack of capital necessary to establish a flourishing industry were all factors in this slow process. Finally, governmental assistance, a renewed interest in conservation, a demand for more recreation spaces, and the region’s unique natural and human history all came together to create a viable tourism industry that today sustains the Bruce Peninsula.

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