Generally I know exactly how I come up with each topic I hand-pick for Twelve Mile Circle articles. That’s not the case here. I don’t recall the exact sequence of steps that led to abandoned canals in Canada. Well, I understand the Canadian part. I figured it would be a smaller universe. Also it’s been awhile since I posted something specifically about Canada and the 12MC audience there was overdue. I do enjoy a decent abandoned canal (e.g., the Patowmack Canal), so maybe that figured into it subconsciously.
Anyway, regardless of inspiration, let’s get started.
Newmarket “Ghost” Canal
The so-called Ghost Canal of Newmarket, Ontario didn’t get its unusual designation from any kind of alleged paranormal or demonic activity. The name derived from its history. Construction began in 1906 after excessive freight costs imposed by a local railroad created sufficient resentment.
Residents wished to link Lake Simcoe and the Trent Waterway as a means to bypass the railroad and save shipping charges. Six years later, after the construction of numerous locks, bridges and supporting infrastructure, the canal approached its completion. Then a new Prime Minister came to power in Canada and canceled the project. The mostly-finished canal remained in place although it never opened for business. Thus it became a Ghost Canal.
As the town of Newmarket explained:
“Instead of having a downtown on a busy tourist waterway, all we are left with is a turning basin at the Tannery Centre filled in to become the parking lot and an almost completed but never used ghost canal with its locks and bridges slowly deteriorating and disappearing.”
… not that they’re bitter or anything.
The Google Street view image I selected above is the site of a former swing bride that would have moved out of the way as boats passed. It never swung. An entire series of photographs appears on another site and a more comprehensive history on another blog. Enjoy.
Shubenacadie Canal
The Shubenacadie Canal fared slightly better, functioning for a decade between 1861 and 1871. Even that didn’t create such a great track record. It got worse. Construction first began in 1826. So it took 35 years to build, and stayed open for only 10.
The canal extended 114 kilometres (71 miles) across Nova Scotia between Halifax and the Bay of Fundy, leapfrogging between the Shubenacadie River and Shubenacadie Grand Lake along the way. An expanding railroad network eventually became a cost-effective alternative and hastened the demise of the Shubenacadie Canal, a fate common to many other canals of that general time period.
The Shubenacadie Canal Commission recently undertook efforts to preserve what little remained of the canal. As an example, the photo shows one of the restored locks at Shubie Park (map) in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.
Desjardins Canal
The Desjardins Canal (map) fared considerably better, operating for nearly 40 years, from 1837 to 1876. It connected Dundas, Ontario to the Great Lakes, and the town benefited from this arrangement during that period. However, once again the railroads created winners and losers. Hamilton had a solid railroad network and it prospered. A canal could not compete so Dundas fell from its perch. Think how the fortunes of Dundas could have changed had it focused on a railroad rather than a canal during that critical formative period.
Soulanges Canal
The most successful venture of the entire lot was the Soulanges Canal that ran along the northern bank of the Saint Lawrence River in Québec (map). It bypassed rapids southwest of Montréal for nearly six decades between 1899-1958.
The Soulanges Canal had a more meaningful purpose than the other abandoned canals: the Saint Lawrence River provided a vital link between the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes, and shipping needed to bypass the rapids. A tremendous amount of tonnage passed through these waters.
The railroads did not put the Soulanges Canal out of business. Rather, an improved Beauharnois Canal that became part of the Saint Lawrence Seaway system in the 1950’s replaced it. The Soulanges Canal lost its purpose. Today a popular bicycle path runs along the former canal.
Leave a Reply