Desjardins Canal

The Desjardins Canal, named after its promoter Pierre Desjardins, was built to give Dundas, Ontario, easier access to Lake Ontario and the Great Lakes system of North America. Although a technological achievement and a short term commercial success, the canal was soon eclipsed by the railway, and Dundas by neighbouring Hamilton.

Following the US Revolutionary War the British government felt an urgent need to populate the interior of the province of Upper Canada. The immediate concern was to find a refuge for Loyalists forced from their previous homes in the United States. After the early settlement of Kingston and the lower St. Lawrence River, and the establishment of Butler’s Rangers and others in the Niagara peninsula, the possibility also existed for Loyalist communities at the head of Lake Ontario.

Another priority was the need to accelerate the settlement of the unoccupied areas in western Upper Canada in order to provide a buffer zone between that province and the United States in the event of further hostilities. Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe hoped to achieve this by offering free 200-acre (80 ha) grants of land in the interior of the province to prospective settlers regardless of nationality. It had been expected that this would entice from the United States immigrants who would become loyal citizens and add to the province’s defensive capability. However land in the Ohio Territory and western New York proved more to their liking.

In order to make the area more attractive, Simcoe wished to open transportation arteries between the interior of the province and the shipping corridor provided by Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River. Not only would these support commercial services for the expanding population and economy of the new territory, they would also serve military purposes, routing traffic away from areas controlled by the United States.

The story of the area around the head of the lake during the early 19th century is one of competition between the towns of Dundas, Ancaster and Hamilton to service this increased trade and achieve economic supremacy. Each town had its unique advantages and disadvantages which might make it more or less attractive to prospective businessmen and settlers. Ancaster had an abundance of fertile land, streams adequate to power mills, and a population of nearly two thousand people. However, in order for an industrial economy to develop, easy access to Lake Ontario was critical. As Ancaster did not border on the lake, in the 1820s and 1830s Dundas, with better water access, an established commercial centre, a relatively stable industrial base and available water power eclipsed it in size and importance. However Dundas in turn was challenged by Hamilton.

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Wikipedia