abouthegreatlakes

In 1930, as the work on the Canal neared completion, reaches were flooded. At the opening of navigation on April 21st. 1930, Locks Nos. 1, 2 and 3 were placed in commission, and this section of the Ship Canal was brought into use as far as the crossing of the Third Canal, above Lock No. 3. This brought Port Weller into regular use, replacing Port Dalhousie., and cut out the Third Canal between that point and Lock No. 11. As the Ship Canal works were not completed at the Twin Locks and above, vessels were turned into the Third Canal at the crossing mentioned, and continued along the former route by way of Locks Nos. 11 to 24. the latter at the turning basin at Thorold. At this point shipping was again diverted to the Ship Canal route, through the Guard Gate structure as far as Port Robinson, the stretch from Allanburg to the latter having been utilized by shipping throughout.

Aerial view of Bridges 14 and 13, looking north, of the Welland Canal, near Welland, Ontario in 1930. (Archives of Canada)

From Port Robinson to Station No. 900 the Ship Canal prism was far enough advanced to accommodate vessels of 14 ft. draught by June 23rd, 1930, and traffic was accordingly diverted to it. At the Chippawa Creek Syphon Culvert at Welland, however, the Ship Canal prism was only ready for similar traffic by July of the same year, and then only for the western half of the channel. This, however, was put in use and traffic through the old aqueduct discontinued. From this time on, the summit level was maintained at El. + 569-0 at the Guard Gate, Thorold.

In the following month. September, 1930, downward vessels were passed for the first time through Lock No. 7 and the Locks Nos. 4, 5 and 6, upbound traffic continuing to make use of the Third Canal Locks Nos. II to 24. Trouble at the division walls of the discharge valves of Lock No. 7 resulted in an interruption of the new route for 17 days, during which all traffic used the Third Canal locks.
Section No. 7, was mainly an enlargement of the Third Canal prism, and so for most of its length was in use all the time, but south of this the use of the new route was dependent upon the completion of Lock No. 8. Vessels were passed through this for the first time on September l6th, 1929.

With the completion of excavation on the summit level, the whole Ship Canal was made available for St. Lawrence size vessels drawing up to 18 ft., and on November 22nd, 1930, the last vessel, the S.S. ILI 102, passed through Locks Nos. 11 to 24 of the Third Canal, which was then out of use, all traffic moving, after this, by way of the Ship Canal.

Boats were waiting at Port Weller in April. 1931, for the opening of navigation when permission was given for vessels 450 ft. long by 18 ft. draught to pass through the Ship Canal; this was later extended to vessels 550 ft. long. The permissible length and draught were not further increased that year, but before the official opening in August, 1932, the permissible length had been increased to 650 ft. and draught to 21 ft.

It may be of interest to record that the first vessel to pass through Lock No. 1, was the S.S. Georgian, a vessel 250 ft long by 42ft 8 in beam, and 14 ft. draught. Before this Lock No. 8 has been opened by the passage of S.S. MEAFORD, CHARLES DICK, HASTINGS and NORTHTON locked through together on September 16th 1929.

In 1931 the first vessel to pass up the Canal. on April 20th was the D.B. HANNA, which was locked through with the S.S. CYCLO-WARRIOR. On June 8th the NORONIC a passenger vessel 375 ft long (362 ft. keel) passed through. This was the first passenger ship to use any part of the new Canal.

On July 15th the transit was made by S.S. WESTMOUNT, an ore carrier 529 ft. long (keel) by 58 ft. beam. On this trip this ship carried 9,000 tons of ore. The S.S. PRESCOTT, in July, took through a cargo of 287,000 bushels of wheat.

In 1931, when the Canal was in regular use, except for the largest class of vessel, passages were early made in much less than the anticipated eight hours. June 19th, 1931, for instance, the S.S.NORONIC, with passengers, did the trip, from entering Lock No. 8 to locking out below Lock No. 1, in 6 hours 32 minutes. Again, on June 23rd, the same vessel did a passage in 5 hours 55 minutes.

Upward bound, no fast transits were recorded until July, when S.S. COLLINGWOOD, on the 13th, made the passage in 6 hours 15 minutes. S.S. R.P. DURHAM, on the 15th, passed through in 5 hours 37 minutes, and S.S. SARNIA, two days later, in 5 hours 40 minutes. The actual minimum time of the upbound passages in 1931 was 5 hours 11 minutes, and for downbound passages 4 hours 35 minutes

In 1932 the first vessel to pass through on the opening of navigation was S.S. SARNIA.

In the summer of 1932, before the official opening, various large vessels had passed through, including S.S. GLENEAGLES (keel length 574 ft., beam 60 ft. and depth 32 ft.). On July 6th S.S. ASHCROFT (length 538 ft., beam 60 ft., depth 32 ft., passed through; while on the same date one of the self-unloading ships, DOW CHEMICAL also made the transit.

The first passage of the largest Upper Lake vessels was reserved for the official opening on August 6th, 1932, when S.S. LEMOYNE was passed through.

"It is a privilege to dedicate this canal to the trade of the world. I hereby declare the Welland Canal open to the commerce of the world."

Those were the words of the Governor General of Canada, the Rt. Hon. Earl of Bessborough, as he officially opened the canal, on August 6, 1932.

Arrival of Earl of Bessborough, Governor General of Canada, and Imperial Conference delegates at Lock 6 for the official ceremonies opening the Welland Canal (Archives of Canada)

Into the lock chamber eased the S.S."LEMOYNE", then the largest freighter on the Great Lakes. Her holds were filled with some 19,000 m3 (530,000 bushels) of wheat. The S.S. "LEMOYNE" was 192.9 m (633 feet) long, had a beam of 21.3 m (70 feet) and was sailing that day on a draught of 5.9 m (19.5 feet).

The Earl of Bessborough, Governor General of Canada, operating lower contro; E, Lock 6, during the official opeining of the Welland Canal (Archives of Canada)

For over 170 years the Welland Canals have been a major industrial catalyst and an important agent of urban evolution, spawning a series of distinct communities along the length of the canals between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Four Welland canals have crossed Southern Ontario's Niagara Peninsula since 1829, and each update fostered a renewed economic expansion. The most recent change came in 1959, when the new St. Lawrence Seaway system opened the canal and the Niagara Peninsula to the Atlantic Ocean.

The St. Lawrence Seaway Authority is the most recent administrative unit to have jurisdictional responsibility over the various commercial locks and linking canals of the Seaway System.

In the early part of the nineteenth century, canal surveying, construction and maintenance were administered by government-appointed commissions. Commencing in 1839 in Lower Canada and shortly thereafter the whole of United Canada (1841), administrative responsibility for canals was assumed by the Board of Works. After 1859, the Board's successor, the Department of Public works retained control of the canals for a period of twenty years.

I n 1879, responsibility for canals was transferred from the Department of Public Works to the newly-created Department of Railways and Canals. In 1936, the Department of Transport absorbed the Department of Railways and Canals, including the administrative responsibility for all matters related to canals.

With the construction of the Seaway well under way, the Welland, Cornwall, Lachine and Sault Ste. Marie canals were transferred from the Department of Transport to the Authority, for purposes of operation and maintenance(P.C. 1959-204). In 1972, the responsibility for the operation, maintenance and repair of all ' non-commercial' canals (including for example the Trent, Rideau, Chambly, Beauharnois amongst others) was transferred to Parks Canada.

The St. Lawrence Seaway Authority was established in 1954 by the St. Lawrence Seaway Authority Act and is designated a proprietary corporation (Schedule III, Part I) within the meaning and purpose of the Financial Administration Act. The Authority was incorporated to ensure the acquisition of lands for and the construction, maintenance and operation of a deep waterway between the Port of Montreal and Lake Erie. The Authority has jurisdiction over the five Canadian locks and linking canals located in the Montreal-Lake Ontario section of the waterway and the eight locks and the all-Canada Welland Canal. The Authority is entrusted with the operation, maintenance of two international bridges connecting Canada and the United States, namely The Seaway International Bridge and The Thousand Islands Bridge.

The Authority reports to Parliament through the Minister of Transport.
The three members of the Authority, appointed by order-in-councii, as well as the Corporate Secretary are located in Ottawa. The headquarters of the Maisonneuve Region, which extends from Montreal to Lake Ontario, is located in St. Lambert, Quebec, as is the Engineering Services Branch office. The Niagara Region headquarters, which operates the Canadian-owned Welland Canal, is situated in St. Catharines, Ontario.