The 9 O'Clock Gun - On time, Every time

Have you ever heard a boom and don't know where it is coming from? If you are in Vancouver, check the time, as if it is nine o'clock in the evening, it will be the Nine O'clock Gun. It has been ringing out nine o'clock for one hundred and eight years since it was placed in Stanley Park.

Why was the cannon set up in the park? The usual explanation is that it was originally installed by the federal department of fisheries to be shot off at 6 pm to alert salmon fishermen in the harbor that it was closing time for fishing. The 9 pm firing was later established as a time signal for the general population and to allow the chronometers of ships in port to be accurately set.

It’s fired electrically these days, and flashing red lights warn passers-by of the imminent blast. Unlike a number of places that have a gun booming out the time, it goes off at nine pm rather than noon. The boom is so loud that it is frequently heard more than three minutes after nine in parts of Vancouver. From our apartment sofa, we have a clear view of the gun and so see the flash and the plume of smoke each evening. I have tried to take my own video of this 9pm sight, but the results have been poor, so I borrowed the enclosed video clip from the internet.