After news of the 9 o’clock gun's temporary cease fire broke yesterday, fans of the 200-year-old cannon flocked to Stanley Park to hear it's signature "BOOM" one more time.
The temporary halting of the Vancouver tradition was announced yesterday due to a global shortage of black powder, the explosive material used in the cannon. As a result, the Vancouver Park Board announced the cannon won't be fired "until further notice."
"This shortage is not unique to Canada; BP is in short supply throughout North America and Europe due to supply chain challenges and an overall decrease in manufacturing," says the board in a press release. "Since the Park Board’s long-time supplier closed last fall, staff were only able to secure enough powder to fire until (Feb. 10.)"
Due to this news, a small crowd appeared to have gathered near the cannon just before 9 p.m. yesterday evening to cheer on its last firing for a while.
Park Board staff are exploring other options to give the cannon its boom back, but so far they haven't been able to acquire anything. However, the intention is to get it going again, as the parks board describes the pause as temporary.
The cannon was originally installed in 1894 as a way to tell mariners what time it is.
With files from Brendan Kergin
