The 175th anniversary of the launching of the Steamer Frontenac, on the Bay of Quinte, Lake Ontario, in 1816, commemorating the first steamship to sail on the Great Lakes. Built by a partnership of Kingston merchants in 1815, the Frontenac established a regular passenger and freight route between Prescott and Burlington by 1817, thus becoming the first Canadian built steamship to operate on Lake Ontario.

The coin design, by Ontario artist David Craig, depicts the Frontenac sailing on Lake Ontario. The Frontenac holds the distinction of being the first Canadian built paddle-driven steamship on any of the Great Lakes.