- Rideau Canal
Infobox World Heritage Site
WHS = Rideau Canal
State Party = CAN
Type = Cultural
Criteria = i, iv
ID = 1221
Region = Europe and North America
Year = 2007
Session = 31st
Link = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1221The Rideau Canal, also known as the Rideau Waterway, connects the city ofOttawa, Ontario ,Canada on theOttawa River to the city ofKingston, Ontario onLake Ontario . Thecanal was opened in 1832 and is still in use today, with most of its original structures intact. [Rideau Canal, UNESCO World Heritage, [http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1221/ UNESCO.org] . Retrieved2008-01-14 .] The canal system uses sections of major rivers, including the Rideau and the Cataraqui, as well as some lakes. It is the oldest continuously operated canal system in North America, and in 2007, it was registered as aUNESCO World Heritage Site . [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6248244.stm Unesco names World Heritage sites] , BBC News, 28 June 2007. Retrieved2008-01-14 .]History
The construction of the Rideau Canal was proposed shortly after the
War of 1812 , when there remained a persistent threat of attack by theUnited States on the British colony ofUpper Canada . In this period, the British built a number of other canals (Grenville, Chute-à-Blondeau and Carillon), as well as a number of forts (Citadel Hill , La Citadelle, and Fort Henry) to impede and deter any future American invasions of Canadian territory.The initial purpose of the Rideau Canal was military, as it was intended to provide a secure supply and communications route between
Montreal and the British naval base inKingston, Ontario . Westward from Montreal, travel would proceed along theOttawa River toBytown (nowOttawa ), then southwest via the canal to Kingston and out intoLake Ontario (and vice versa for eastward travel from Kingston to Montreal). The objective was to bypass the stretch of theSt. Lawrence River borderingNew York State , a route which would have left British supply ships vulnerable to attack or a blockade of the St. Lawrence.The construction of the canal was supervised by Lieutenant-Colonel
John By of theRoyal Engineers . Private contractors such as future sugar refining entrepreneurJohn Redpath ,Thomas McKay , Robert Drummond, Thomas Phillips, Andrew White [ [http://www.rideau-info.com/canal/history/hist-canal.html History of the Rideau Canal] , Rideau-info.com. Retrieved2008-01-14 .] and others 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 canal was completed in 1832. The final cost of its construction was £822,000. Given the unexpected cost overruns, By was recalled to
London and questioned by a parliamentary committee before being cleared of any wrongdoing.Once the canal was constructed, no further military engagements took place between Canada and the United States. Although the Rideau Canal never had to be used as a military supply route, it played a pivotal role in the early development of Canada. Prior to the locks being completed on the St. Lawrence in the late 1840s, the Rideau served as the main travel route for immigrants heading westward into Upper Canada, and for heavy goods (timber, minerals, grain) from Canada's hinterland heading east to Montreal. Tens of thousands of British immigrants travelled the Rideau in this period. Hundreds of barge loads of goods were shipped each year along the Rideau, allowing Montreal to compete commercially, in the 1830s and 40s, with New York (which had the Erie Canal), as a major North American export port.
Construction Deaths
As many as a thousand of the workers died from
malaria [ [http://www.weareirish.ca/pages.php?id=388 Irish Deaths] , WeAreIrish.ca. Retrieved2008-05-28 .] , other diseases and accidents during blasting. Some of the dead remain unidentified as they had no known relatives in Upper Canada. Memorials to the fallen labourers have been erected along the canal route, most recently the Celtic Cross memorial in Ottawa and in Kingston. [ [http://www.rideau-info.com/canal/history/memorials.html Memorials] , Rideau-info.com. Retrieved2008-01-14 .] The first memorial anywhere along the length of the Rideau Canal acknowledging deaths among the labour force was erected in 1993 by the Kingston and District Labour Council and the Ontario Heritage Foundation at Kingston Mills.The waterway
The 202 kilometres (125 miles) of the Rideau Canal incorporate sections of the Rideau and Cataraqui rivers, as well as several lakes, including the Lower, Upper and Big Rideau lakes. About 19 kilometres (12 miles) of the route is man-made. Communities along the waterway include Ottawa, Smiths Falls, Merrickville, Westport, Battersea and Kingston.
Today, only pleasure craft make use of the Rideau Canal. Boat tours of the canal are offered in the city of Ottawa, Merrickville, and at Chaffeys Lock. Recreational boaters can make use of it to travel between Ottawa and Kingston with ease. Most of the locks are still hand-operated. There are a total of 45 locks at 23 stations along the Canal, plus two locks at the entrance to the Tay Canal (leading to Perth).
In normal operations the canal can handle boats up to 27.4m (90ft) in length, 7.9m (26ft) in width, and 6.7m (22ft) in height. In special circumstances a boat up to 33.5m (110ft) in length by 9.1m (30ft) in width can be handled.
The Skateway
In winter, a section of the Rideau Canal passing through central Ottawa becomes officially the world's largest skating rink. [ [http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/01/27/winnipeg-skating.html Winnipeg lays claim to world's longest skating path ] ] The cleared length is 7.8 kilometres (4.8 miles) and has the equivalent surface area of 90 Olympic hockey rinks. It runs from the Hartwell locks at
Carleton University to the locks between the Parliament Buildings and theChâteau Laurier , includingDow's Lake in between. It serves as a popular tourist attraction and recreational area and is also the focus of theWinterlude festival in Ottawa. Beaver Tails, afried dough pastry, are sold along with other snacks and beverages, in kiosks on the skateway. In January 2008,Winnipeg ,Manitoba achieved the record of the world's longest skating rink at a length of 8.54 kilometers, but with a width of only 2 to 3 metres wide, [ [http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/01/27/winnipeg-skating.html Winnipeg lays claim to world's longest skating path ] ] on itsAssiniboine River andRed River at The Forks.Although some residents of Ottawa had been using the canal as an impromptu skating surface for years, the official use of the canal as a skateway and tourist attraction is a more recent innovation. In fact, as recently as the 1970s, the
city government of Ottawa considered paving over the canal in order to make an automobileexpressway cite book |last=Doucet|first=Clive|authorlink=Clive Doucet|title=Urban Meltdown: Cities, Climate Change and Politics as Usual|year= 2007|publisher=New Society Publishers|location=Gabriola Island, BC|isbn=978-0-86571-584-4|pages=15-17|oclc=86226079] . The federal government's ownership of the canal, however, prevented the city from pursuing this proposal.When Doug Fullerton was appointed chair of the
National Capital Commission , he proposed a recreational corridor around the canal, including the winter skateway betweenCarleton University andConfederation Park . The plan was implemented despite opposition by city council, and 50,000 people skated on the canal on the first weekend.. City councilor and authorClive Doucet credits this transformation of the canal with reinvigorating the communities ofthe Glebe ,Old Ottawa East andOld Ottawa South .It has been reported that the
National Hockey League 'sOttawa Senators are exploring the possibility of playing a regular season game outdoors on the Rideau Canal, using temporary bleachers for the spectators. [ [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071231.WBhockeyblog20071231134212/WBStory/WBhockeyblog/ Hockey Blog] .Globe and Mail . December 31, 2007. Retrieved2008-01-01 .]ee also
*
Trent-Severn Waterway Central Ontario Canal System
*Welland Canal Southern Ontario Canal System
*Saint Lawrence Seaway Ontario - Quebec waterway system
*Parks Canada Players Heritage Theatre Series along the Rideau Canal
*The Forks - Winnipeg, ManitobaReferences
External links
* [http://www.rideau-info.com/canal/ Rideau Canal Waterway]
* [http://www.rideau175.org Rideau Coming Events]
* [http://www.rideaufriends.com Friends of the Rideau]
* [http://www.remuseum.org.uk/rem_his_bio.htm Royal Engineers Museum] - Biography of Colonel By
* [http://www.rideauheritageroute.ca Rideau Heritage Route - Tourism]
* [http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/bins/ncc_web_content_page.asp?cid=16297-16299-10080&lang=1 Rideau Canal Skateway]
* [http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/skateway/index_e.asp Skating Conditions]
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* [http://www.rideau-info.com/canal/tales/bye-by.html Bye By] - The full story of Lt. Colonel John By's fall from grace
* [http://www.rideau-info.com/canal/tales/grave-revealing.html A Grave Revealing] - Death and Burial during the building of the Rideau Canal
* [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0006829 Rideau Canal from "The Canadian Encyclopedia"]
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