Desjardins Canal - The End of The Road

The End of The Road

The first railway in Canada was the Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad, built in 1836 in Lower Canada to connect ports on the St. Lawrence and Richelieu Rivers. The potential for railroad transportation in Upper Canada was quickly recognized and almost immediately the Desjardins Canal Company was forced to deal with this new source of competition. Railways came on stream rapidly during the mid 1850s but the one that had the most impact on Dundas and the Desjardins Canal was the Great Western Railway connecting Niagara Falls and Windsor through Hamilton, Dundas and London. This development was good news for the province as a whole but, as the lines serviced areas on which the Desjardins Canal depended for much of its traffic, they had a negative impact on the canal company.

While the canal continued to provide benefits to Dundas, its problems did not abate. Chief among them were financial issues as the canal continued to be unable to generate sufficient operating income to remain viable. Competition from the railroads, and from the network of roads allowing improved travel between producers and consumers, certainly contributed to this. Another factor was that, with the development of steam-based power technology, it became possible to locate industry away from sources of water power. This, along with the availability of waterfront access not dependent on the vagaries of the Desjardins Canal, accelerated the growth of industry on Hamilton’s bay shore to the detriment of Dundas.

All this was exacerbated by squabbling between the railroad, road and canal companies about bridge construction and rights-of-way. As the canal cut through the shortest route between Toronto and Hamilton for both rail and road traffic it was necessary to bridge the gap in some way in order to accommodate land-based traffic. Conflict over the years centered over whether to build a low level bridge (cheaper but with the potential to block canal traffic, and difficult for trains to use) or a high level one (more expensive but providing a straight and level base for train traffic). The bridges also presented safety issues, most notably in 1857 when a derailment which killed 59 people received wide attention.

Protracted negotiations between the contending companies went led nowhere and finally the Desjardins Canal Company was offered $10,000 if they would close the canal down. However the town of Dundas had become the canal’s principal mortgage holder, with a $52,000 stake in the canal, and as income from future tolls was the only apparent way by which this debt could be discharged, the offer was refused. To protect their interest the town seized the canal to settle the mortgage and applied to the government for relief from canal debts. This was granted in 1873. However the bridges were still perceived to be in an unstable condition and this, along with rapidly dropping canal revenues, caused the town to reverse its position and agree to close the canal subject to payments of $35,000 each from both the road company and the railway company in lieu of any claims.

For all practical purposes the canal had ceased to have a serious commercial future once a low level road bridge was constructed in 1869, denying access to most lake schooners. Writing in 1875 a local historian commented on “The ill-fated Desjardins canal. It is now seldom used except by raftsmen for the purpose of floating timber into Burlington Bay, or sometimes by the people of Dundas who might use the small boat Argylle for the purpose of convening pleasure parties to Rock Bay or other points along the shore.”

In 1876 the canal company was liquidated. The canal was turned over to the Crown as required by the original incorporation agreement and became a public work. However the provincial government, then as in the past, had no interest in equity ownership and the canal was placed under the control and management of the town of Dundas by an Order in Council on April 25, 1877. In October of that year full ownership was transferred to the town by two additional Orders in Council. In 1878 a canal committee was struck by Dundas, the canal was dredged again, tolls were revised and advertisements for business published. However this was to little avail and in 1895 direct rail service to Dundas was inaugurated, finally ending any dreams of commercial potential for the Desjardins Canal. Today, its remains can be seen north of Cootes Drive in east Dundas and in the rotting logs in the shallows of Cootes Paradise. As part of the renaissance in the area, the city of Hamilton established a walking path along the former canal.