Pointe-au-Père Lighthouse. The statue in front is for a Pavilion dedicated to the Empress of Ireland which sank near here, 29 May 1914. This accident claimed 1,073 lives making it the deadliest maritime disaster in Canadian history.

Pointe-au-Père Lighthouse played a primordial role in the history of navigation on the St. Lawrence River. The existing lighthouse, built in 1909, is the second highest in Canada (128 steps of the Lighthouse and has a height of 33 meters (108’).

The tower of this 3rd Lighthouse is an octagonal shape, built of re-enforced concrete and strengthened by eight pillars of the same materiel, a rare style for Canadian lighthouses. The optic lens installed in the new lighthouse was a marvel of precision.

At the beginning of the century, the high volume of traffic made it necessary to construct a new better equipped Lighthouse. In 1908, this site was chosen to install a stronger light. The new lens had an internal diameter of one meter and a focal distance of half a meter. In the Spring of 1909, the new 33 meters (108’) high Lighthouse was inaugurated for the Navigation Season. It is the second highest lighthouse in Canada.

The light used the principle of concentrated beams and projected reflection by means of prisms and lenses. This device of glass and cooper weighed one and half ton, and rested in a bath of mercury to avoid friction while in motion.