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RURAL CURRENTS: A small length of canal vitalized the young country's export capacity
The 14-kilometre Lachine Canal, built by Irish labourers, supported industrial growth and wartime production for 134 years before the St. Lawrence Seaway opened in 1959.
- The 14-kilometre Lachine Canal functioned as Canada's most vital infrastructure for 134 years, connecting Montreal to the St. Lawrence River and enabling critical export and industrial growth.
- Irish labourers dug the canal by hand from 1820 to 1825, establishing French-populated Saint Henri Est and Irish-populated Point-Saint-Charles on opposite sides of the waterway.
- John Redpath's sugar factory utilized the canal for power and shipping, while Northern Electric later operated a one million square foot facility employing 6,000 workers as the British Empire's largest factory.
- The 1959 opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway rendered the canal obsolete for shipping, causing widespread factory closures before Parks Canada eventually revitalized the area for public recreation.
- Historic mansions in the Golden Square Mile were abandoned after the 1930 stock market crash, yet modern redevelopment has transformed sites into premium residences, with one Redpath Street property recently selling for $36 million.
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Ontario Farmer+12 Reposted by 12 other sources
RURAL CURRENTS: A small length of canal vitalized the young country's export capacity
MONTREAL – The 14-kilometre Lachine canal, flowing from a small lake through Montreal to the old port at the St Lawrence, was for 134 years, “the single most important infrastructure built in Canada.”
·London, Canada
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Total News Sources13
Leaning Left0Leaning Right12Center1Last UpdatedBias Distribution92% Right
Bias Distribution
- 92% of the sources lean Right
92% Right
R 92%
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