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RURAL CURRENTS: A small length of canal vitalized the young country's export capacity
The Lachine Canal supported Montreal’s export and industrial growth for over a century, employing thousands and later transitioning to recreation and high-end housing.
- The 14-kilometre Lachine Canal functioned as Canada's most vital infrastructure for 134 years, connecting Montreal to the St. Lawrence River to facilitate critical export and industrial growth.
- Irish labourers dug the canal by hand from 1820 to 1825, establishing the French-populated Saint Henri Est on one side and the Irish-populated Point-Saint-Charles on the other.
- John Redpath established a sugar factory utilizing 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+10 Reposted by 10 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 Sources11
Leaning Left0Leaning Right10Center1Last UpdatedBias Distribution91% Right
Bias Distribution
- 91% of the sources lean Right
91% Right
R 91%
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