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A black and white passenger ferry, "MANITOULIN", sails on rippling water under a hazy sky, creating a slight wake.

Our History

The Owen Sound Transportation Company (OSTC) has been a vital marine transportation link in Ontario’s waterways for over a century. 

Girl paddling canoe
Legs and hiking boots stand on a cliff edge, overlooking a dense green forest meeting a vibrant turquoise and deep blue ocean below.
CCM on river with the night sky

Northeastern Ontario

OSTC was first established in 1921 by three Owen Sound businessmen. The service initially operated as a freight-only enterprise for a local furniture manufacturer, with steamboat SS Michipicoten procuring materials along the north shore of Lake Huron and Manitoulin Island and delivering finished products from Owen Sound. Over the next fifty years, OSTC expanded its fleet and operations with excursions to Killarney, Sault Ste. Marie, and Mackinac Island, and seasonal ferry service between Tobermory on the Bruce Peninsula and South Baymouth on Manitoulin Island.

In 1974, Ontario Northland Transportation Company acquired OSTC and launched the state-of-the-art MS Chi-Cheemaun, capable of transporting 600 passengers and close to 150 vehicles on the Tobermory/Manitoulin Island route in a crossing time of less than two hours. In 2002, OSTC separated from Ontario Northland to become an agency of the Government of Ontario. OSTC took over operation of the ferry route between Moosonee and Moose Factory Island (previously managed by Ontario Northland), expanding its mandate from the Great Lakes into the James Bay Frontier with the launch of the MV Niska 1 in 2011.

A great blue heron takes flight, wings blurred, over golden marsh grass with a vibrant autumn forest backdrop under a clear sky.
A child with curly brown hair stands facing the ocean, hands extended towards foamy waves washing onto a sandy, rocky beach, viewed from directly above.
A hand holds a tilted wine glass filled with red wine, set against a blurred background of green vineyard leaves and brown soil.

Southwestern Ontario

Ferry service to Pelee Island began in 1821 with the Sylph. Hired by American surveyors working on the Western Basin islands in Lake Erie, it was the first in a long line of privately operated schooners providing service to Pelee Island, including the Adelaide, Chapman, Comet, and Ambush.

By the turn of the century, local residents decided it was time for a more reliable service and formed a stock company to purchase the SS Saugatuck (renamed the Alfred Clark). In 1913, the Windsor and Pelee Island Steamship Co. of Amherstburg commissioned the Collingwood Shipbuilding Company to build the SS Pelee, a reliable freight and passenger steamer that would serve local needs for the next half-century.

An orange lifebuoy hangs on a white ship railing, with coiled rope and a light attached, overlooking calm blue water from a green deck.

Safety and Reliability: The New Priorities

During this time, the Canadian government legislated more stringent safety requirements, increasing operational and liability costs which limited private sector competition. Responding to a shortage of ferry operators, the federal government constructed the MV Pelee Islander in 1960. 

A woman in a plaid shirt stands on a boat deck, holding a red cup, gazing at a sun-dappled sea and distant mountains under a bright sky.

Technology Meets Rising Demand

By the late 1980s the return of grape cultivation spurred a renaissance of tourism on Pelee Island. The provincial government responded to this rise in demand with the construction of a larger vessel, the MV Jiimaan, followed by the MV Pelee Islander II in 2019. Today, the MV Pelee Islander and MV Pelee Islander II continue to offer safe and dependable service across Lake Erie.