Editing Lachine Canal (section)

==History==
[[File:Le canal Lachine.jpg|thumb|left|View of the canal in 1850]]
[[Image:LachineCanal1920.jpg|left|thumb|The Lachine Canal in 1920]]
The area of the canal is a traditional meeting place between the various indigenous groups of the region, the [[Algonquin people|Algonquin]], [[Huron-Wendat Nation|Huron]] and [[Iroquois]]. Suggestions for a possible canal to bypass the [[Lachine Rapids]] dated back to the time of early explorers such as [[Samuel de Champlain]]. Settlers and trade had to make a long portage to continue upstream of Montreal.

Interest in constructing a canal picked up after the land for the canal was granted by the [[French monarchs|King of France]] to the [[Sulpician Order]], who held a monopoly on grain on the island. Beginning in 1689, attempts were made by the [[French colonial empire|French Colonial government]] and several other groups to build a canal.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://collections.banq.qc.ca/ark:/52327/bs65031 |title=The city and the St. Lawrence - analysis of development issues and potential |page=9}}</ref> The first construction in 1689 was intended to bring water to the flour mills of the Sulpicians and increase the flow of goods. The project stopped after an attack in August 1689 by the Iroquois. After a peace treaty was made between the French and the Iroquois in 1701, there was hope by the Sulpicians that the canal project would be restarted.<ref name="tce">{{cite web |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/le-canal-de-lachine |title=Lachine Canal |first=Francis |last=Desaulniers |website=The Canadian Encyclopedia |accessdate=January 17, 2025 |date=October 25, 2012}}</ref> However, the Sulpicians had neither the capital nor the financial resources to restart the project.<ref name="tce"/>

After Quebec became a British colony, tensions between Quebec and the new United States led to the construction of small canals between Montreal and the Great Lakes. After the [[War of 1812]], there was a hightenede interest in a canal to bypass the rapids and facilitate the transfer of goods in the region on larger boats.<ref name="tce"/>

After more than 130 years of failure, a consortium that included the young [[Scotland|Scottish]] immigrant [[John Redpath]] was successful. [[John Richardson (businessman)|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.<ref>{{cite manual|title=Urban Revitalization in Montreal: Field Trip Manual|section=ASSIGNMENT # 4: LACHINE CANAL TO SAINT-HENRI|publisher=Institute of Urban Studies, [[University of Winnipeg]]|date=2005-05-09|url=http://ius.uwinnipeg.ca/WIRA/PDF/fieldtrip-manual.pdf|access-date=2008-03-06|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080410182619/http://ius.uwinnipeg.ca/WIRA/PDF/fieldtrip-manual.pdf|archive-date=2008-04-10}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Desloges">{{cite journal|last1=Desloges|first1=Yvon|title=Behind the Scene of the Lachine Canal Landscape|journal=[[IA, The Journal of the Society for Industrial Archeology]]|date=2003|volume=29|issue=1|pages=7–20|jstor=40968609}}</ref>{{rp|7–8}}

Work on the canal commenced on July 17, 1821, under Chief Engineer Thomas Burnett and Construction Engineer John Richardson. The original canal was {{convert|14|km|mi}} long and had seven locks, each {{convert|30|m|ft}} long, {{convert|6|m|ft}} wide and {{convert|1.5|m|ft}} deep.<ref name="mussio">{{cite journal|last1=Mussio|first1=Laurence B|author-link1=Laurence B. Mussio|title=First bank|journal=Canada's History|date=2017|volume=97|issue=5|pages=42–46|issn=1920-9894}}</ref> 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 [[Society of Saint-Sulpice|Sulpician Order]] decided to sell lots.{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}

During the 1840s, under Chief Engineer [[Charles Atherton (civil engineer)|Charles Atherton]], the Lachine Canal was deepened to allow heavier ships to pass through and hydraulic power was introduced to the industries on its banks.<ref name="Bliek">{{cite journal|last1=Bliek|first1=Desmond|last2=Gauthier|first2=Pierre|title=Understanding the Built Form of Industrialization Along the Lachine Canal|journal=Urban History Review|date=2006|volume=35|issue=1|pages=3–17|jstor=43560187|doi=10.7202/1015990ar|doi-access=free}}</ref>{{rp|5}} 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.<ref name="lewis"/>
[[File:Lachine Locks (BAnQ 2632708).jpg|alt=Lachine Locks between 1903 and 1920|thumb|Lachine Locks]]
The second important shift that can be noted through the growth and development of the canal is the creation of industrial suburbs.<ref>Robert D. Lewis, "The Development of an early Suburban Industrial District: The Montreal Ward of Saint-Ann, 1851-71" in History210 Coursepack, ed. Marry Anne Poutanen (Montreal: Concordia University Press, 2009), 217</ref>  Before the Lachine Canal, Montreal's industrial region was in what would be considered the downtown area.<ref name="lewis">Robert D. Lewis, "The Development of an early Suburban Industrial District: The Montreal Ward of Saint-Ann, 1851-71", History210 Coursepack, ed. Marry Anne Poutanen (Montreal: Concordia University Press, 2009), pg. 217<!--ISSN/ISBN needed, if any--></ref>
[[File:Soldier of the Victoria Rifles, guarding the Lachine Canal, Montreal.jpg|thumb|upright|A soldier guarding the canal during wartime in 1939]]
[[File:Feature. Lachine Canal BAnQ P48S1P16588.jpg|thumb|Doors opening a lock. Lachine Canal, August 7, 1948.]]
The impact of the Lachine Canal on Montreal during the mid- to late 1800s can be seen through the emergence of new working-class neighbourhoods such as Griffintown, St Henri, Pointe St Charles.<ref>Desmond Bliek, "Mobilising Urban Heritage to Counter the Commodification of Borwnfield Landscapes: Lesson's from Montreal’s Lachine Canal" Canadian Journal of Urban Research (2007), 45</ref>  Furthermore, the population of Montreal grew by over four times between the mid-1800s to the early 1900s.<ref>Jean Hamelin and Yves Roby. "Histoire Économique et Sociale du Québec 1851-1896", Centre de Recherche en Histoire Économique du Canada Français (1971), pg. 292<!--ISSN/ISBN needed, if any--></ref>

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.<ref name="Bliek" />{{rp|7}} Throughout the mid to late 1800s, industries all along the banks of canal experienced consistent growth through the access to this energy source. By the end of the 1800s, factories began to utilize steam powered factories as opposed to hydraulic power.<ref name="Bliek" />{{rp|7}}

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.<ref name="Desloges" />{{rp|11}}

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.<ref name="Desloges" />{{rp|13}}

Although this switch did not initially affect the Lachine Canal region in a negative manner, factories were no longer dependent on the canal as an energy source. Industries now had the option of building further and further away from the canal itself, which was also helped by the development of a railway system throughout Montreal's industrial region.<ref>Desmond Bliek, "Mobilising Urban Heritage to Counter the Commodification of Borwnfield Landscapes: Lesson’s from Montreal’s Lachine Canal" Canadian Journal of Urban Research (2007), pg. 4<!--ISSN/ISBN needed, if any--></ref>

However, while the Lachine Canal proved an enormous boon for Montreal and the Province of Quebec, time would show that for Canada's [[The Maritimes|Maritime Provinces]], it was the first major nail in that region's economic coffin.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}
The first enlargements took place between 1843 and 1848, under the supervision of [[Alfred Barrett]]. Five new locks, each {{convert|61|m|ft}} long, {{convert|13.5|m|ft}} wide and {{convert|2.7|m|ft}} deep replaced the original seven locks. A second enlargement of the canal took place between 1873 and 1885, at which time the locks were lengthened to {{convert|82|m|ft}} and deepened to {{convert|4.3|m|ft}}.

The main reason for the second enlargement came from complaints from industrialists who wanted more power generated from the canal. They complained about the speed of the current being too slow. The second enlargement was meant to fix these problems.<ref name="Desloges" />{{rp|8–9}}

Soon after the opening of the Lachine Canal in 1825, many of Montreal's merchants convinced the city's government to set up a harbour commission. One of the presidents of the harbour commission was John Young. Under Young's orders the canal was deepened so that the canal would be able to have bigger boats pass through.<ref name="Desloges" />{{rp|11}}

Railway transportation proved to be very important for Montreal. The Grand Trunk Railway had its workshop in Point. St. Charles. This proved to be very important for the Lachine Canal because its workshop in Point St. Charles provided a link to the Atlantic during the winter months. It was the door to the rest of the Grand Trunk railway line that went from Toronto to Maine. Because the Lachine Canal was the link between the ocean and the interior of Canada and America, it was a major centre for transportation.<ref name="Desloges" />{{rp|11}}

The canal continued to operate successfully until around 1950, but then, surrounded by the industrial developments which it helped to create, it could not be expanded further to cope with the continuing increase in vessel size. The canal became obsolete in 1959, being replaced by the [[St. Lawrence Seaway]], which opened that year. The canal was finally closed to shipping in 1970. The opening of the Seaway and the decline of shipping on the canal led to the devastation of the neighbourhoods that lined the canal in Montreal's ''[[Le Sud-Ouest]]'' borough due to shifting patterns of industrial development and shipping.{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}

The lower section of the Lachine canal was entirely filled in between 1965 and 1967 and closed to commercial navigation in 1970 and reopened to pleasure craft in 2002.<ref>[http://www.ameriquefrancaise.org/en/article-685/the_lachine_canal_and_its_industrial_corridor.html The Lachine Canal and its Industrial Corridor], ameriquefrancaise.org; accessed April 1, 2017.</ref>