page_title: Lachine Canal
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Lachine Canal / History
caption_attribution_description: Lachine Locks, P. Que., carte postale, Valentine &amp; Sons' Publishing Co.
context_page_description: The Lachine Canal is a canal passing through the southwestern part of the Island of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, running 14.5 kilometres from the Old Port of Montreal to Lake Saint-Louis, through the boroughs of Lachine, Lasalle and Sud-Ouest. Before the canal construction there was a lake, Lac St Pierre. The lake and its rivers can be seen on the maps of Montreal of the years 1700, 1744 and on the map titled "The isles of Montreal. As they have been surveyed by the french engineers".
  The canal gets its name from the French word for China. The European explorers sought to find a route from New France to the Western Sea, and from there to China and hence auspiciously the region where the canal was built was named Lachine.
  Due to the continuous disposal of industrial waste, the canal contains harmful substances, though the water quality is said to be good.
context_section_description: The canal is situated on land originally granted by the King of France to the Sulpician Order. Beginning in 1689, attempts were made by the French Colonial government and several other groups to build a canal that would allow ships to bypass the treacherous Lachine Rapids.
  After more than 130 years of failure, a consortium that included the young Scottish immigrant John Redpath was successful. John Richardson was Chairman of the Committee of Management of the canal project and its chief engineer was Thomas Brunett. The contractors were Thomas McKay and John Redpath, plus the firms of Thomas Phillips & Andrew White and Abner Bagg & Oliver Wait.
  The Lachine Canal was built to bypass the rapids at Lachine, upstream of Montreal. Freight and passengers destined for points past Lachine had to portage the 8 or 9 miles from Montreal's port to the village of Lachine where they could resume their trip by boat.
  Work on the canal commenced on July 17, 1821 under Chief Engineer Thomas Burnett and Construction Engineer John Richardson. The original canal was 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) long and had seven locks, each 30 metres (98 ft) long, 6 metres (20 ft) wide and 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) deep. The new canal officially opened in 1825, helping turn Montreal into a major port and eventually attracting industry to its banks when the Society of Sulpician Order decided to sell lots.
  During the 1840s, the Lachine Canal was deepened to allow heavier ships to pass through and hydraulic power was introduced to the industries located on its banks. Through the enlargement of the canal, its use changed from solely a means of avoiding the Lachine rapids to that of an industrial region within Montreal. There were two major effects on the development of Montreal due to the enlargement of the Lachine Canal. The first was that by creating a route that bypassed the Lachine rapids and therefore opened the upper St Lawrence River to navigation, Montreal became a more convenient area for trade, effectively taking away shipping traffic from Quebec City and moving it to Montreal.
  The second important shift that can be noted through the growth and development of the canal is the creation of industrial suburbs.  Before the Lachine Canal, Montreal's industrial region was located in what would be considered the downtown area.
  The impact of the Lachine Canal on Montreal during the mid- to late 19th century can be seen through the emergence of new working-class neighbourhoods such as Griffintown, St Henri, Pointe St Charles.  Furthermore, the population of Montreal grew by over four times between the middle of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.
  One of the main reasons behind the growth of the Lachine Canal region was the access to hydraulic power which was provided through the deepening of canal in the 1840s. Throughout the mid to late 19th century, industries all along the banks of canal experienced consistent growth through the access to this energy source. By the end of the 19th century, factories began to utilize steam powered factories as opposed to hydraulic power.
  The top three manufacturing industries in Montreal were wood, iron, and steel. In 1871 these three sectors made up 60% of the total Canadian manufacturing production. Other industries that had factories along the canal were the leather industries and the garment industries, which apart from the leather industry all increased.
  As wood was on the decline and industries were growing at a much faster pace, iron and steel were still the dominant industries. By World War II, industries needed more water to power their machines, and the hydraulic system was not providing enough power. Many of the factories needed another source of power. The new source of power came from coal. With the Grand Trunk Railway on hand at Point St. Charles, industries were able to import coal from many different sources. They were able to import coal from Nova Scotia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and across the ocean from Great Britain. The Lachine Canal was extremely busy acting as a hub for the city of Montreal.
  Although
caption: Lachine Locks
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