Rideau Canal

• Official name: Rideau Canal
• Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
• Type: Cultural
• Year of inscription: 2007

The Rideau Canal opened in 1832 and connects Canada’s capital Ottawa, with Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River. The name Rideau means “curtain” in French, and the canal was so named because of the double waterfalls of the Rideau River. The canal has a length of about 125.5 miles (202 kilometers). Many of the canal’s original forty-seven locks were made from stone that was mined on-site. According to the United Nations World Heritage Convention, the canal began as part of a British military strategy to protect their Canadian colonies from an invasion by the United States. Such an invasion had taken place during the War of 1812.

British Lt. Col. John By was commissioned in 1826 to create the canal that ran from the Ottawa River to Kingston, Ontario, at a minimum depth of 5 feet (1.5 meters). Thousands of workers hired by the Corps of Royal Engineers worked on the construction of the site. By later argued that the locks, as originally proposed, would not be large enough to accommodate new steamboats. A new agreement was reached to make the locks 134 feet (41 meters) long and 33 feet (10 meters) wide. By was also concerned about the defense of the canal and sought additional funds to construct blockhouses. Several blockhouses were created; however, the canal was never used for its military purpose.

In 2006, the canal was nominated as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site, and was approved a year later. The modern canal route offers a variety of outdoor activities, including fishing, rock climbing, camping, and boating. A series of walkways can also be used by hikers or cyclists. In the winter, a section of the canal is transformed into a skating rink. The canal is one of the world’s longest skating rinks at 4.8 miles (7.8 kilometers). In 2022, more than half a million skaters visited the Rideau Canal Skateway. In 2023, challenging weather conditions related to global climate change limited the skating season to ten days, which saw only 160,000 total skaters. In 2024, the rules for ice thickness were modified to allow for a longer skating season.

UNESCO named the Rideau Canal as a World Heritage site because it is considered “the best-preserved example of a slackwater canal in North America.” The locks of the canal slow the water flow, meaning the canal has no excessive current, hence the term slackwater. The canal’s original structure plan also remains intact and preserved.

History

The Rideau Canal was built, in part, as a response to post-War of 1812 tensions between the United States and Great Britain. The United States declared war on Great Britain in 1812, primarily over trade grievances and the British impressment of US sailors from merchant ships. Part of the US war strategy involved invading Canada, which was a British colony at the time. Although the United States believed it could easily take Canada, the invasion was a failure. Canada believed that constructing the Rideau Canal could serve as a buffer to protect the nation from future invasions.

At the same time, the canal would help solve a logistics problem that slowed transportation between Ottawa and the St. Lawrence River. The river ran well south of Ottawa, making travel to the important waterway slow, costly, and potentially dangerous. The canal was seen as a way to connect the city to both the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario. Lt. Col. John By was appointed to the project in 1826 by the Royal Engineers. He disagreed with the initial canal route that had been recommended. Instead of avoiding the existing rapids, By developed a slackwater system that flooded the rapids through a series of dams, making them navigable. By also argued for wider and longer locks to better accommodate modern steamboats, an argument that was met with compromise. Construction work began on the canal in 1827. The Royal Engineers designed the project, but they contracted private individuals for construction and blacksmithing work.

Working on the canal was difficult, and workers faced many challenges. Immigrants were often hired to supplement—or replace—local workers. The need was constant, particularly when malaria began to take the lives of canal workers. Although the canal opened successfully in 1832, building expenses, including those incurred from increasing its width, did not sit well with the British government. By’s conduct was investigated, and although no misconduct was found, he did not receive the proper recognition for his work on the project.

Although By advocated for blockhouses at every lock station, the Canadian government found the cost prohibitive and only six were built at “vulnerable” locations. To further increase canal protection, four additional towers were built between 1846 and 1848 at Kingston Harbour, where the canal met the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario.

Beyond Military Use

When the canal opened in 1832, its ease of navigability made it more attractive than the St. Lawrence River for commercial purposes. The St. Lawrence River rapids were eventually “tamed” by engineered locks, and commercial shipping moved to the more direct, and now safer, St. Lawrence River route. That shift did not remove all traffic from the canal. Poor roadways and railroads kept the canal attractive locally. Its transportation expanded in 1887 when the Tay Canal, connecting the town of Perth with the Rideau Canal, was completed. In the years after World War I (1914–1918), commercial traffic on the canal dropped dramatically, and the Rideau Canal began to take on a new purpose.

Though only one bridge crossed the canal when it was first built, swing bridges sprung up at various lock stations. The increase in bridges coincided with the development of roadways in the area. Over the years, the bridges have been modified and replaced as needed. The British government was originally responsible for the maintenance of the canal. However, control was given to the colonial government in 1856 and transferred to the federal government when the Canadian colonies confederated to form a new nation in 1867. The Rideau Canal was recognized as a national historic site in 1926, and in 1972, the Parks Canada Agency assumed responsibility for its upkeep. The Parks Canada Agency has taken major steps to preserve the canal and save many of its original features.

Significance

To be named a World Heritage Site, potential locations must meet one of ten criteria set out by UNESCO. Rideau Canal meets two. The first is that it represents “a masterpiece of human creative genius.” UNESCO notes that because many of Rideau Canal’s original structures remain standing, it is the best-preserved example of a slackwater-type canal in North America. Because the canal no longer serves as a military buffer against invasion, or a main connecting waterway to the St. Lawrence River, its original militaristic and commercial uses no longer exist. However, the canal has found new life by taking advantage of the natural resources in the surrounding land. In the twenty-first century, the canal is mainly used for recreational purposes, including fishing, boating, kayaking, skating, and cycling. The Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada has also declared the canal area to be of “national historic significance.” The Canadian government allows people to rent the historic stone houses of former lockmasters as vacation homes. All repairs are handled through Parks Canada, and annual inspections of the site are conducted to ensure preservation.

The second UNESCO criterion met by the canal is that it serves as an example of a “building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history.” The canal’s creation as a military barrier to invasion was a direct result of the War of 1812 in North America and the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. In addition, the canal is also rare because it was constructed for “strategic” military purposes, one of the few canals in history built for that purpose. In addition, Lt. Col. By’s push to widen the canal to allow for more modern steamboats illustrated forward-thinking by the engineers involved. This ultimately contributed to the use of the canal for commercial purposes.

When Canada submitted its application to UNESCO for the canal to be included as a World Heritage Site, the nation also listed a potential third criterion for inclusion—that the site exhibited “an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world.” The Canadian government stated that the canal brought existing European technology of the time to North America, connecting the two continents on a technological level. Despite Canada’s request for the criterion, UNESCO did not include it in its declaration.

Bibliography

Bostelaar, Robert. “The Rideau ‘Skateway:’ Not the Longest, but Apparently Among the Poshest.” Ottawa Citizen, 18 Dec. 2014, ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/the-rideau-skateway-not-the-longest-but-apparently-among-the-poshest. Accessed 2 Dec. 2024.

“The Criteria for Selection.” World Heritage Centre, whc.unesco.org/en/criteria. Accessed 2 Dec. 2024.

“Nomination of the Rideau Canal.” Parks Canada, whc.unesco.org/uploads/nominations/1221.pdf. Accessed 2 Dec. 2024.

Raymond, Ted. “NCC Lowered Ice Thickness Standard to Push Rideau Canal Skateway Open in February.” CTV News Ottawa, 1 Nov. 2024, ottawa.ctvnews.ca/ncc-lowered-ice-thickness-standard-to-push-rideau-canal-skateway-open-in-february-1.7095484. Accessed 2 Dec. 2024.

“Rideau Canal.” World Heritage Centre, whc.unesco.org/en/list/1221. Accessed 2 Dec. 2024.

“Rideau Canal National Historic Site: Culture and History.” Parks Canada, 16 June 2023, www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/on/rideau/histoire-history. Accessed 2 Dec. 2024.

“Rideau Canal Skateway.” National Capital Commission, ncc-ccn.gc.ca/places/rideau-canal-skateway. Accessed 2 Dec. 2024.

Watson, Ken. “History of the Rideau Canal.” Rideau Canal, www.rideau-info.com/canal/history/hist-canal.html. Accessed 2 Dec. 2024.