History of the St. Lawrence / Great Lakes Canals System (1783-1954)

French Era Early Navigation and Locks Lachine Canal: The First Step towards the Great Lakes Developments of the St. Lawrence Canals System Developments of the Great Lakes Canals System Selected Bibliography

The St. Lawrence Seaway is a complex system of waterways, canals and locks linking the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. This section examines the initial developments that had led to the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway in the middle of the twentieth century. The commercial usage of the St. Lawrence / Great Lakes spans over several centuries, but the first significant works were done by the British after 1783.

Francois Dollier de Casson was the first to initiate a project of bypassing the Lachine Rapids

Although the St. Lawrence Seaway was officially opened in 1959, its inception can be traced back to the French Era (1608-1760). A significant share of Nouvelle France's economy was leaning on fur trade around the St. Lawrence / Great Lakes system. Furs were light commodities, so canoes were sufficient to support this trade. When rapids were encountered, canoes and commodities were simply carried on foot to the next navigable trunk of the river. Therefore, the French realized that to improve fur trade and strengthen the colony, waterways would eventually have to be built.

The first step to undertake such a goal was to build a canal passing by the Lachine Rapids to Lake St. François, the first major natural obstacle on the St. Lawrence. In 1689, a Sulpician named François Dollier de Casson initiated such a project, but failed because of technical difficulties and high costs. He also wanted to use this canal as a source of power for flour mills. The 1.6 km long, 3.6 meters wide and 0.45 meters deep canal was never completed. However, this project underlined the main rationale behind the foundation of the Seaway, that is power for the industries and navigation for commerce.

In 1783, the British built the first lock along the St. Lawrence, Coteau du Lac.

Steamers started to be used after 1809 on calm portions of the St. Lawrence.

The American Invasion of 1776-77 clearly underlined for the British the problem of linking the St. Lawrence to the Great Lakes with waterways. One of the first waterways to be build along the St. Lawrence was by the British military in the short section between Lake St. Louis and Lake St. Francois, just west of Montreal. This section is composed of three rapids, which are Coteau, Cedar and Split Rock rapids.

In 1783 the first lock canal, Coteau du Lac, was built at Coteau Rapids and was approximately 270 meters long, 2.1 meters wide and 0.75 meters deep. Its main purpose was the improve the military supply lines between Montreal and Kingston. This work was complemented by three other canals passing by Split Rock Rapids, the Split Rock Canal (1783), the Trou du Moulin and La Faucille Canals (1785) and the Cascades Canal (1805; which replaced the Trou du Moulin and La Faucille canals).

In terms of navigation the Durham barge is gradually replacing the bateau in the 1800s. The first could carry between three and four tons of freight while the second could carry up to 10 tons. It required the enlargement of existing canals and locks. However, navigation along the St. Lawrence is still long and difficult. In the early 1800s, it took between three and four days to travel from Kingston to Lachine, but between ten and fourteen days to travel in the opposite direction. Rapids were thus a strong constraint for fluvial traffic along the St. Lawrence.

On the calmer sections of the St. Lawrence, downstream Montreal and on Lake St. Louis and St. Francois, larger ships were used. In 1809, the first steamer (the Accommodation) is being used between Montreal and Quebec. By the 1810s it was possible to travel between Montreal and Quebec in 24 hours and between 36 and 40 hours in the opposite direction (the difference is obviously attributed to downstream currents).

The construction of the Erie Canal was a major boost for the construction of the Lachine Canal

It was completed in 1825, but was upgraded several times to accommodate larger ships.

It became obsolete after the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959 and was officially closed in 1970.

The War of 1812 clearly underlined the need to have an efficient navigation system along the St. Lawrence for military supply lines. Between 1812 and 1819, further studies were undertaken to build a canal between Montreal and Lachine but funding was a major deferring issue. In 1819, when Americans started to build the Erie Canal between Albany and Buffalo, the treat of having the role of Montreal and the St. Lawrence overtaken in its role of transshipment point to the Great Lakes favored the creation of Company of the Lachine Canal with the goal to complete the canal.

The company went bankrupt in 1821 and the project was overtaken by the Lower Canada government. Work actually began the same year and by 1825 the canal was completed. It involved a 14.3 meters climb over 13.5 kilometers and had a minimum depth of 1.5 meters. This was too shallow so the canal had to be enlarged again between 1843 and 1848 to support larger ships with a minimum depth of 2.7 meters.

Several industries were attracted by the hydraulic power generated by the Lachine Canal and by 1847, land next to the locks began to be leased for industrial use. This was a major factor in the industrialization of Montreal. By 1870, more than 13,000 ships passed through the locks each year. The popularity of the canal initiated again enlargement works between 1873 and 1879 and the minimum depth reached 4.3 meters. The business generated by the Lachine Canal favored the emergence of important Canadian maritime companies such as the Canada Steamship Line, founded in 1913. In 1929, the canal was declared a National Historic Site, but with the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959, traffic dropped. The Lachine Canal was formally closed in 1970. In the 1990's, there was discussions about reopening the Lachine Canal to navigation for recreational purposes.

A succession of canals were built on the trunk between Lake St. Louis and Kingston.

After the first canals were built (Coteau du Lac, Lachine, etc.), the need to improve the existing ones and to extend the system became clear, notably as the tension between Britain and the United States mounted and as Upper Canada was being settled. However, there was a divergence between economic interests and military interests. From an economic point of view, the waterway should take the most direct route between Montreal and Kingston, that is using the International Rapids. The problem was that this section is the border with the United States for around 160 km and that the Canada (Britain) relations with the United States at that time were rather tense. The military preferred an indirect but secure route passing by the Ottawa River and the Rideau Canal.

• Ottawa-Rideau Canal. The War of 1812 has underlined that the International Rapids between Montreal and Kingston could be unsafe in case of a conflict between Canada and the United States. With this view the British surveyed and alternative route using the Ottawa River until Bytown (the City of Ottawa initial name) and then Kingston. Work for the Ottawa-Rideau Canal began in 1826 and the canal was completed in 1832 The detour imposed by the canal is far longer than by the more direct route, 394 km against 294 by the St. Lawrence. Therefore, this canal was built for strategic reasons and as soon as Canada / United States relations became more cordial (in the middle of the nineteen century), the Rideau Canal lost a significant share of its "raison d'etre".

On the St. Lawrence section, several canals and locks were constructed:

• Cornwall Canal.The Long Sault Rapids was the first major obstacle to be overcome after Lake St. Francois. Construction began in 1834, but was stopped in 1838 due to economic recession. The canal was finally completed in 1842.
• Beauharnois Canal. Completed in 1845 (construction started in 1842), this canal replaced the Cascades and Coteau canals. This canal had the particularity of going south of the St. Lawrence. It was superceded by the Soulanges Canal in 1901. However, it was re-opened and enlarged in 1959 to become part of the St. Lawrence Seaway.
• Williamsburg Canals. Between Long Sault Rapids and Lake Ontario, there is a set of smaller and scattered rapids (Farran's Point, Rapid Point, Iroquois and Cardinal). Starting from 1835 these rapids were overcome by a set of canals known as the Williamsburg canals. One of them was called the Gallop Canal and was between Iroquois and Prescott while the Farran Point and Rapide Plat canals passed over these rapids. By 1840, all these canals were in operation.
• Soulanges Canal. The Beauharnois Canal proved to be inadequate for deepening and enlargement, required by larger ships. Starting from 1892, the Soulanges Canal was built on the northern shore of the St. Lawrence and was 4.25 meters deep. If was opened in 1899 and two years later the Beauharnois Canal closed.

The Welland canal was built to overcome the most difficult obstacle, the Niagara Escarpment.

With the Soo Locks, 1,000-foot ships can have access to the four upper Great Lakes.

The St. Lawrence canal system was only one part in the development of the St. Lawrence Seaway linking the St. Lawrence to the Great Lakes. The other part aimed at linking the Great Lakes themselves.

• The Welland Canal. The most difficult obstacle of the Great Lakes is the Niagara Escarpment, a 99 meters climb between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. Work started in 1824 but proved to be far more difficult and expensive than initially taught, so the private project had to be rescued by the government. The Welland Canal finally opened in 1829 with 2.4 meters (8 feet) deep. The increase in ship size forced improvements of the Welland Canal four times. Between 1954 and 1959 it was deepened to 27 feet.
• The Soo Locks. The last climb of the Great Lakes system is between Lake Huron and Lake Superior (9.1 meters) in Sault Ste. Marie (or Soo) at the border between Canada and the United States. In 1797, the British Northwest Fur Company built a lock on the Canadian side, which was destroyed during the War of 1812. On the American side, construction began in 1853 and the Soo Locks were opened in 1855. On the Canadian side, a new lock was built in 1895. Over the years the Soo Locks were enlarged such as in 1914 and in 1943. In 1969 a large lock was completed, enabling the navigation of 1,000-foot long carriers (often called Lakers) over the four upper Great lakes. Those carriers cannot use the St. Lawrence Seaway.

The history of the St. Lawrence / Great Lakes canals system ends in 1954 when construction works of the St. Lawrence Seaway began (see the economy section).

• Lasserre, J-C (1980) Le Saint-Laurent: Grande Porte de l'Amerique, Ville LaSalle, QC: Hurtubise HMH.
• Uncknown (1959) The St. Lawrence Seaway & Power Projects, Montreal: Reid and Boulton Publishing.

Related Web Sites

Lachine Canal National Historic Site Reopening of the Lachine Canal Canada Steamship Line Rideau Canal Waterway Great Lakes Information Network The Welland Canal Ship Society The Soo Locks