ON THIS DAY

November 30, 1829

Two schooners passed from Port Dalhousie to Port Robinson, Upper Canada, symbolically opening the Welland Canal, which linked Lakes Erie and Ontario for the first time. The 43.5 km canal opened the way to the West, countered the threat of the American Erie Canal and bypassed Niagara Falls. The canal is crossed by 11 lift-bridges, three tunnels, one high-level bridge and a seasonal pedestrian ferry.