| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
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. 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 goal 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 EngineersThe Corps of Royal Engineers (RE), commonly known as the Sappers is one of the corps of the British Army. It provides combat engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces. The Regimental Headquarters and the Royal School of Military. 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. As many as a thousand of these workers died from malariaMalaria ( Italian: bad air ; formerly called ague or marsh fever in English) is an infectious disease which causes about 500 million infections and 2 million deaths annually, mainly in the tropics and sub-Saharan Africa. The protozoan cause of malaria was, other diseases and accidents such as explosions during blasting. The final cost of the canal was £822,000. This was more than had been expected and By was recalled to LondonLondon is the capital of the United Kingdom and of England, and with over seven million inhabitants in the Greater London area, is the second-most populous conurbation in Europe (after Moscow). From being Londinium the capital of the Roman province of Bri and questioned by a parliamentary committee before being cleared of any wrongdoing.
The 202 kilometres (125 miles) of the Rideau Canal incorporate sections of the Rideau RiverCarleton University The Rideau River is a Canadian river which flows north from Upper Rideau Lake and empties into the Ottawa River at Rideau Falls in Ottawa, Ontario. Its length is 146 km. The river was given the French name "Rideau" (curtain) after the and the Cataraqui RiverThe Cataraqui River forms the lower portion of the Rideau Canal in Canada. The Cataraqui River system was extensively modified during the construction of the canal: swamps were turned into lakes and new marshes were formed. The Cataraqui River drains into, 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 locksA canal lock or navigation lock is a device that lifts or lowers boats, barges or other vessels from one water level to another. Locks used on canals allow the negotiation of hills without recourse to lengthy detours, or the use of tunnels or aqueducts. are still hand-operated.
Communities along the waterway include: