PORT MAITLAND—After wildfire smoke, oppressive heat, thunderstorms, and more then 150 kilometres travelled together, two rows of paddlers reached Lake Erie with a strengthened sense of community.
The 11th annual Two Row on the Grand concluded in Port Maitland on July 24, 2026, completing a 10-day journey from Cambridge along the Grand River.
Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants travelled in two symbolic rows while sharing campsites, meals, cultural teachings, and conversations about the Two Row Wampum Treaty.
—Haldimand Press photos by Nick Fearns.
The treaty is represented by two vessels travelling along the same river, each retaining its own laws, culture, and traditions without attempting to steer the other. Its principles include peaceful coexistence, friendship, mutual respect, and non-interference.
Co-founder Jay Bailey said reaching Port Maitland brought paddlers a sense of accomplishment, particularly after pushing against winds coming off Lake Erie.
“We made it, and we’ve built community,” he said. “The group has really gelled, supporting each other, encouraging each other, and helping each other.”
Bailey described the final gathering as both celebratory and difficult as participants shared their last meal and prepared to leave the community they had formed.
Some participants have described the experience as life-changing and will carry its lessons back to their families and communities, he said.
“They’ve got a different direction to move in and a different spirit to move with,” Bailey said.
The journey presented several weather-related challenges for participants.
Wildfire smoke and poor air quality affected the first half, with some participants leaving because of respiratory concerns. Paddlers also remained off the river for two days.
During the Haldimand County portion, a thunderstorm forced the group to make an emergency exit approximately three kilometres before its intended destination.
Paddlers were soaked as they left the river, found shelter from the wind, and waited for transportation. The ground crew shuttled them to their campground before returning them to the same location the following morning, allowing them to complete the missed distance before continuing the day’s planned route.
Bailey said the nine or 10 ground crew members received additional help from Bloom Resorts, including its owner and a resident recruited to assist with transportation.
“People just seemed to want to support this kind of community,” he said.
Two Row on the Grand Co-founder Ellie Joseph said conditions improved for the final days, however, with more comfortable temperatures on the water.
“Today was actually the most efficient we’ve ever been and the earliest we’ve ever come in,” Joseph said after arriving in Port Maitland.
She also raised concerns about interactions between paddlers and motorized boaters along the route. Joseph said passing boats placed paddlers in potentially dangerous situations and she hopes boaters become more aware of non-motorized vessels.
“Non-motorized crafts have the right of way, particularly when there’s 40 vessels on the water,” she said.
Despite those concerns, Joseph said organizers were grateful everyone completed the final day safely.
Karen Reid and Reda Jamali were among the participants arriving in Port Maitland. Reid said she and her partner had been inspired by Bailey and Joseph several years earlier.
A neighbour had also borrowed their canoe to take children on Two Row on the Grand and returned with positive stories about the experience.
“It lived up to the expectation and way more,” Reid said. “It’s been just a beautiful, beautiful time together, team building and gathering and just being together.”
Jamali joined partly because of an interest in land-based learning and Indigenous knowledge. The paddle also offered a personal challenge, as Jamali had never previously canoed or camped.
“It was a mixture of community and challenging ourselves and just putting ourselves out there,” Jamali said.
Haldimand County supported the final five days of the paddle by sending two representatives onto the river each day.
Councillors Debera McKeen and Dan Lawrence participated on July 20, followed by Councillor Brad Adams and Jaymie Nelson, Project Manager of Business Retention and Expansion, on July 21. Councillor John Metcalfe and CAO Michael DiLullo paddled on July 22, followed by Shannon VanDalen, Manager of Planning and Development, and Krystina Wheatley, Supervisor of Development Engineering and GIS, on July 23. Alycia Birdsell and Nicole Snow, both representing the County’s human resources department, participated in the final day.
The County also hosted an engagement session featuring artist Gina Wilson-McIntee and an interactive activity in which paddlers added their fingerprints to a wooden paddle. Heritage Haldimand welcomed paddlers and provided snacks on July 21.
First organized in 2015 by volunteers from Six Nations of the Grand River and surrounding communities, Two Row on the Grand has grown into an annual opportunity for cultural learning and relationship building.
Bailey credited the paddlers, organizers, and ground crew for carrying the group through the difficult conditions.
“Each and every one of these paddlers and ground crew deserves thanks because they all pitched in,” he said. “They all did a wonderful job.”
