Rideau Canal

The Rideau Canal, also known as the Rideau Waterway, connects the city of Ottawa, Ontario on the Ottawa River to the city of Kingston, Ontario on Lake Ontario. The Rideau Canal was completed in 1832 and continues to be operated today. It is the oldest continuously operated canal system in North America.

Table of contents

1 History
2 The Waterway
3 The Skateway
4 External links

History

At the time it was proposed, shortly after the War of 1812, there was a real threat of attack on Canada from the United States. The possibility of future American attacks had to be provided for and if possible, deterred.

Its initial purpose was military - to provide a secure supply route between Montreal and Kingston, Ontario. So westward from Montreal, travel would proceed along the Ottawa River to Ottawa, then southwest via the canal to Kingston (and vice versa for eastward travel from Kingston to Montreal). The key being to reach Lake Ontario while bypassing the stretch of the St. Lawrence River bordering then Upper Canada (now the Province of Ontario) and New York State which would have left British supply ships vulnerable.

No further military engagements have taken place between Canada and the United States since the canal was constructed, and consequently the Rideau Canal was never used for its intended purpose.

The construction of the canal was supervised by Lieutenant-Colonel John By of the Royal Engineers. Private contractors were responsible for much of the construction and the majority of the actual work was done by thousands of Irish and French-Canadian labourers. The final cost of the canal was £822,000. This was more than had been expected and By was recalled to London and questioned by a parliamentary committee before being cleared of any wrongdoing.

The Waterway

Locks entering the Ottawa River

The 202 kilometres (125 miles) of the Rideau Canal incorporate sections of the Rideau River and the Cataraqui River, as well as several lakes including the Lower, Upper and Big Rideau lakes. About 19 kilometres (12 miles) of the route is man made.

Today, only pleasure craft make use of the Rideau Canal. Boat tours of the Canal are offered in the city of Ottawa and hobbyist boaters can make use of it to travel between Ottawa and Kingston with ease. Many of the locks are still hand-operated.

Communities along the waterway include:

Ottawa, Ontario
Smiths Falls, Ontario
Merrickville, Ontario
Westport, Ontario
Newboro, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario

The Skateway

In winter, the section of the Rideau Canal which passes through the city of Ottawa becomes the world's longest skating rink. The cleared area is 7.8 kilometers long and has the equivalent surface area of 90 olympic hockey rinks. It serves as a popular tourist attraction and recreational area and is also the focus of the Winterlude festival in the City of Ottawa. Beaver Tails, pastries topped with ingredients such as cinnamon, lemon, and maple syrup, are a popular treat on the Canal and are sold, along with other foods, in kiosks scattered along the length of the skateway.