Britannia Shipyard

Britannia Shipyard is a historic maritime site on the Steveston Channel of the Fraser River in Richmond, British Columbia. Today it operates as Britannia Shipyards National Historic Site, an approximately 8.14-acre heritage park preserving a former salmon cannery, shipyard, boatbuilding facilities, workers’ housing, stores, and other structures associated with the industrial and social history of Steveston. The site is open to the public as a museum and living heritage destination rather than as a conventional commercial shipbuilding company. The property began in 1889 when the Anglo-British Columbia Packing Company established the Britannia Cannery. Steveston was then a major centre of the Pacific Coast salmon-canning industry, with numerous canneries operating along the Fraser River. Britannia depended on a seasonal workforce drawn from Indigenous, European, Chinese, and Japanese communities. Indigenous and European fishers supplied salmon, Chinese workers carried out much of the cannery processing under demanding contract-labour conditions, and Japanese-Canadian fishers and boatbuilders contributed to the local fishing and marine economy. By the early twentieth century, declining Fraser River sockeye runs and the consolidation of salmon processing reduced the viability of smaller canneries. Britannia ended canning operations in 1917. The former cannery building was then adapted into a boat repair facility and shipyard serving the packing company’s fleet. In 1918, part of the property was leased to Murakami Boatworks, operated by Otokichi Murakami. The Murakami family combined boatbuilding, fishing, and residence at the site, creating one of the best-preserved examples of a Japanese-Canadian fishing and boatbuilding presence in historic Steveston. The Second World War brought a major rupture. In 1942, the forced internment and dispossession of Japanese Canadians removed the Murakami family from the site and deprived them of their property and livelihood. After the war, shipyard activity resumed under changing ownership, including BC Packers. The operation continued to repair and maintain working vessels, evolving from predominantly wooden-boat work toward fiberglass and steel maintenance before closing as a working shipyard in 1980. After a period of vacancy, the property was transferred to the City of Richmond for preservation. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1991. Its surviving buildings and boardwalks now interpret the interconnected history of salmon canning, commercial fishing, boatbuilding, industrial labour, immigration, Japanese-Canadian dispossession, and Indigenous and multicultural communities on the Fraser River. Visitors can explore the original shipyard building, Murakami Boatworks, the Murakami House, the Chinese Bunkhouse, the Seine Net Loft, the Winch Shed, the First Nations Building, the Japanese Duplex, the Manager’s House, the Men’s Bunkhouse, Point House, and related structures. Britannia’s contemporary identity combines conservation, interpretation, public programming, and traditional craft. Historic vessels and equipment are restored on site, and local shipwrights and volunteers demonstrate wooden-boat restoration techniques. The property also participates in community events such as the annual Richmond Maritime Festival. Its positioning is therefore rooted in accessible public history and hands-on maritime heritage: it presents a former industrial workplace as a preserved cultural landscape with continuing craft activity and educational use.

Britannia Shipyard developed within the historic fishing and salmon-canning settlement of Steveston, on the Fraser River in what is now Richmond, British Columbia. The site was established in 1889, when the Anglo-British Columbia Packing Company opened the Britannia Cannery. It formed part of the dense group of salmon canneries that made Steveston one of the most important salmon-processing centres on the West Coast. The cannery economy depended on a seasonal and ethnically diverse labour system. Indigenous and European fishers harvested salmon from the Fraser River and surrounding waters. Chinese workers performed much of the cannery’s processing work, including preparation and packing, often under restrictive contracts, low wages, and difficult living conditions. Japanese Canadians were prominent in fishing and boatbuilding, contributing both labour and marine expertise to the local economy. Buildings preserved at Britannia, including the Chinese Bunkhouse and Japanese-Canadian residences and workshops, document these unequal but interconnected communities. Britannia’s cannery operations ended in 1917. The change reflected declining sockeye salmon runs and the consolidation of canning into larger and more centralized facilities. Rather than disappearing from the marine economy, the property was converted into a boat repair shop and shipyard serving the packing company’s fleet. The former cannery structure became an industrial workspace with machinery, workbenches, and facilities for repairing vessels. In 1918, the Murakami family established Murakami Boatworks on part of the property. Otokichi Murakami and his family operated the boatbuilding business while also living at the site. Their home and workshop illustrate how Japanese-Canadian fishing families combined domestic, commercial, and industrial life in a single waterfront environment. Murakami Boatworks became an important part of the site’s identity and remains one of its central interpretive features. The Second World War transformed the community. In 1942, the Canadian government’s forced internment of Japanese Canadians led to the removal of the Murakami family and the loss of their property and livelihood. The event is now a major part of Britannia’s interpretation, linking local industrial history to the history of racism, dispossession, and Japanese-Canadian resilience. Following the war, the shipyard returned to operation under successive owners, including BC Packers. It continued to service working vessels and adapted to changing marine technologies. Traditional wooden boat repair was supplemented by maintenance involving fiberglass and steel. The shipyard remained active until 1980, after which the property stood vacant for a period. The site was subsequently donated or transferred for municipal preservation and became a heritage attraction operated by the City of Richmond. Its national importance was recognized in 1991, when Britannia Shipyards was designated a National Historic Site of Canada. Preservation efforts have retained the relationship between buildings, water, docks, boardwalks, and the intertidal landscape rather than treating individual structures as isolated exhibits. Today, Britannia Shipyards functions as an open-air museum and living heritage site. Visitors can explore the former cannery and shipyard, Murakami Boatworks, the Murakami House, the Chinese Bunkhouse, the Seine Net Loft, the Winch Shed, the First Nations Building, the Japanese Duplex, the Manager’s House, the Men’s Bunkhouse, Point House, and other preserved facilities. Exhibits address salmon canning, fishing technology, contract labour, boatbuilding, immigration, Indigenous history, Japanese-Canadian internment, and everyday life in the waterfront settlement. The site also maintains a practical connection to maritime craft. Shipwrights and volunteers undertake traditional wooden-boat restoration using historic tools and techniques, while public events and educational programs connect conservation with community participation. Through this combination of preserved industrial structures, social history, active restoration, and cultural programming, Britannia represents the wider maritime history of Steveston rather than only the history of one former shipyard.

1. 1991National Historic Site designation

   Britannia Shipyards is designated a National Historic Site of Canada.

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2. 1980Working shipyard operations end

   The property ceases operating as a commercial shipyard after decades of vessel repair and maintenance.

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3. 1942The Murakami family is removed during Japanese-Canadian internment

   Wartime forced internment dispossesses the Murakami family of its property and interrupts its boatbuilding and fishing livelihood.

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4. 1918Murakami Boatworks begins operating

   Otokichi Murakami leases part of the property and establishes a boatbuilding and repair operation.

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5. 1917Canning operations end

   The cannery closes as declining salmon runs and industry consolidation reduce the viability of the facility.

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6. 1917The site becomes a boat repair facility

   The former cannery building is converted into a boat repair shop and shipyard for the packing company’s fleet.

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7. 1889Britannia Cannery is established

   The Anglo-British Columbia Packing Company establishes the Britannia Cannery on the Steveston waterfront.

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A publicly accessible maritime heritage destination that preserves the industrial, multicultural, and community history of Steveston’s salmon-canning and boatbuilding economy.

• Britannia ShipyardHistoric shipyard and museum1889

  The original 1889 cannery structure later became the site’s principal shipyard and boat-repair building. It preserves industrial equipment, work areas, historic vessels, and exhibits explaining the transition from salmon processing to marine repair. The building remains a central visitor destination and supports continuing restoration activity.

• Murakami BoatworksBoatbuilding heritage facility1918

  Murakami Boatworks represents the Japanese-Canadian boatbuilding and fishing presence at Britannia. Established in 1918 by Otokichi Murakami, it combined workshop and family livelihood. The preserved facility helps interpret wooden-boat construction, waterfront work, and the effects of wartime dispossession.

• Chinese BunkhouseHeritage building and exhibition1915

  Built in 1915, the Chinese Bunkhouse is described as the last surviving Chinese bunkhouse on the West Coast. It once accommodated as many as 100 seasonal cannery workers. Exhibits address communal housing, contract labour, working conditions, and the central role of Chinese workers in the salmon-canning industry.

• Seine Net LoftFishing-industry heritage facility1955

  Constructed in 1955 for the Phoenix Cannery, the Seine Net Loft was used to make and repair large fishing nets. It now presents the equipment, skills, and technological changes associated with commercial fishing in Steveston.

• Murakami HouseHistoric residence and exhibit

  Built over the water, Murakami House preserves the domestic and working environment of the Murakami family. The building interprets the daily life of Japanese-Canadian fishing and boatbuilding families and the disruption caused by wartime internment.

• Richmond Maritime Festival

  Richmond · British Columbia

  Britannia Shipyards serves as a venue and heritage hub for Richmond’s annual maritime festival, which brings together wooden boats, nautical culture, public activities, art, and local history.

  Outcome. The event extends the site’s public role beyond static interpretation and connects historic shipbuilding and fishing traditions with community participation.

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• 1917Conversion from cannery to shipyardStrategy

  Declining Fraser River sockeye runs and consolidation in the salmon-canning industry undermined the original cannery business.

  What changed. The former cannery was repurposed as a boat repair shop and shipyard serving the packing company’s fleet.

  Aftermath. The site remained part of the regional marine economy until its working shipyard operations ended in 1980.

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• 1991Britannia Shipyards receives National Historic Site designation

  The historic Britannia property was formally recognized as a National Historic Site of Canada for its importance to West Coast salmon canning, shipbuilding, and the multicultural communities of Steveston.

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• Britannia Shipyards operates as a public heritage site

  After the former working shipyard was transferred to the City of Richmond, the property was developed into an open-air museum and heritage park with restored buildings, exhibits, boardwalks, and maritime programming.

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• Britannia Shipyards participates in Richmond Maritime Festival programming

  The site serves as a venue and heritage hub for the annual Richmond Maritime Festival, which highlights local nautical history, art, wooden boats, and maritime traditions.

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1. Britannia Shipyard
2. Britannia Shipyards National Historic Site