The Current

The Canadian Coast Guard is looking for lighthouse keepers. Here's what the job entails

The Canadian Coast Guard is looking to fill positions for assistant lighthouse keepers. It might not be everyone's dream job, but according to two former lighthouse keepers, the job has its perks, including beautiful landscapes and lots of quiet time.

Days at the lighthouse can be isolated and remote, according to former lighthouse keepers

A lighthouse overlooking a body of water
Being a lighthouse keeper provides 'worthy work and good work,' says veteran keeper Caroline Woodward. (Jeff George)

Originally published Jan. 16, 2024.

Caroline Woodward didn't know she wanted to be a lighthouse keeper. But she knew she needed an adventure. 

Working in publishing at the time, Woodward boarded the ferry to Alert Bay on B.C.'s Cormorant Island one day for work, when she scooped up a dog that had run off from its owner.

When that owner caught up to her and the pooch, he mentioned he was on his way to Pulteney Point, on nearby Malcolm Island, to relieve a lighthouse keeper for six weeks. 

"I just thought that was marvellous," she told The Current's host Matt Galloway. "And I emailed my husband right away and said, 'I think I've found our new life.'"

Woodward, who retired in 2021, spent 14 years "on the lights" — a phrase used in some parts of B.C. to describe the life of a lighthouse keeper. 

She knew it would be the right place for her because she grew up used to big outdoor spaces and nature in the Peace River Country of B.C. 

"I think we sort of bond to our early environment like ducks, and I miss that," she said. 

Currently, Canada only has 51 staffed lighthouses. 

It's a similar story for Barry Porter, who had no idea he'd stumble into a career being a lighthouse keeper. 

A welder by trade, Porter eventually spent 23 years working in lighthouses across Newfoundland. 

It was an opportunity that "came out of left field," he said — and at a time when he was feeling homesick and ready to search for other work in his home province. 

"I heard through a buddy of mine that the Canadian Coast Guard were looking for lighthouse keepers, sort of just out of nowhere," said Porter. 

Woman with yellow jacket outside
Woodward conducting salinity tests at Nootka Lighthouse in B.C., just off the west coast of Vancouver Island. (Jeff George)

"In '84 I went full time at beautiful Long Point and Twillingate. And once I settled at Long Point … I just had the feeling that I was meant to be at this."

A 'unique' career path

Currently, the Canadian Coast Guard is looking for assistant lighthouse keepers in B.C. and has just extended the deadline to apply.

But Porter says some aspects of the job are not easy selling points.

"You're isolated," he said. "You're out on the island, 20 miles out in the Atlantic Ocean with another stranger. You got to do your job and adjust to your co-worker."

Man standing outside with an iceberg
Barry Porter near Surgeon Cove Point Lighthouse in Newfoundland, with a chunk of fresh iceberg in his arms from the iceberg behind him. (Barry Porter)

And often, unless there's an emergency, there's only room to take leave once or twice a year, and you usually work seven days a week, according to Woodward. 

The locations are usually quite remote. And although some get their own speedboat or Canadian Coast Guard helicopter to leave, it can be difficult to navigate harsh weather conditions. 

"You go through some wicked storms to get out and get back in sometimes. So it was tricky," said Porter. "You break a lot of safety rules to get out."

On top of that, you have to be diligent and consistent with weather reports. 

"If there's a big change — and there's criteria for how big that change needs to be — you need to call in a weather special to alert float planes and mariners that things are going sideways," said Woodward. 

But nonetheless, it's a "unique career," said Porter. One suited for anyone who enjoys isolation and remoteness. 

Some of that quiet time has allowed him to try "every hobby under the sun," he said. Without that aspect, it's hard to keep sanity in check, he says. 

"Photography, woodworking, hiking — I've I done everything over 23 years."

Man on ladder of a lighthouse
Porter painting the lighthouse tower in 1991, on remote Bacalhao Island Lighthouse off the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland. (Barry Porter)

'Worthy work'

At the lighthouse, getting food is often an interesting exploit. 

In fact, the career allowed Woodward to become a great gardener, growing fruits and vegetables in a greenhouse by her lighthouse. 

It was one of the few ways she could supplement the food orders picked out by personal shoppers and brought in by air.

"They go out for you once a month, and then they take all these boxes down to the base and the helicopters come out on the grocery tender, we call it, once a month or once every five weeks or so," she said. 

Besides some of the hardships of being a lighthouse keeper, there are a few aspects that they miss about that life — the beauty of the landscapes being one of them. 

"Not a person around the nice sunset," said Porter. "The calm evenings would be nice."

It was a "wonderful chapter of our lives," said Woodward. She says she hopes young people today consider the possibilities of that career path. 

"We feel it was worthy work and good work," she said. "There's no substitute for eyes and ears, and the human judgment to call in for people in trouble and to notice what's going on in the water."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Keena Alwahaidi is a reporter and associate producer for CBC. She's interested in news, arts/culture and human interest stories. Follow her on Twitter at @keenaalwahaidi