The Lachine Canal, which is celebrating its 200the anniversary this year, is constantly evolving. In two centuries, it went from an important industrial and maritime artery to a neglected basin, then to a perfect example of urban gentrification.
In the past, on New Year’s Eve, Montrealers who lived on the banks of the Lachine Canal opened their doors, despite the winter, to hear the sirens of neighboring factories ring out at midnight.
This is one of the stories historian Steven High has heard over and over again from residents of the working-class neighborhoods along the canal. Most of these factories have now disappeared and the current canal, lined with cycle paths and condominium buildings, would be unrecognizable to a Montrealer from the 1940s who had traveled back in time.
There remain certain monuments familiar to many Montrealers, such as the illuminated sign of Farine Five Roses, near the Old Port, for example, or the dilapidated Canada Malting silos further west.
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The train crosses the bridge that spans the Lachine Canal, near Montreal Central Station
Photo: - / Marc Godbout
The canal is both an emblem and a microcosm of Montreal, a source of pride and debate. This is the place where these forces are most visible in Montreal, estimates historian Steven High, professor at Concordia University. You go to the canal and you can see the city transform before your eyes.
The idea of a canal to bypass the Lachine Rapids upstream of Montreal is almost as old as the city itself. Nevertheless, the first attempts to build a canal, from the end of the 17e century, ended in failure.
It was only in 1821 that work really began, pushed by Montreal merchants who wanted to make the city an important commercial center by opening a passage across the St. Lawrence River. They felt the threat of the Erie Canal, then under construction, which would connect the Great Lakes to the Hudson River and transform New York City into a major port.
Four years for the first portion
The Lachine Canal, 14 kilometers long and opened in 1825, was built largely by Irish immigrants who settled in the area now called Griffintown, in the west of the old town. Working conditions were very harsh and a bloody labor dispute occurred during the canal expansion in 1843, resulting in several deaths.
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The Lachine Canal was expanded twice during its first 60 years of service to accommodate increasingly larger ships.
Photo: BAnQ
Lined wall to wall with factories
The canal was the first link in a series of canals built along the St. Lawrence River to allow boats to navigate between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean, explains Émilie Girard, historian with L’Usine à histoire ( s), an organization that offers consultation services in heritage matters.
The waterway also spurred a wave of industrial development in Montreal, with factories quickly springing up along its banks. They were attracted by the promise of hydraulic power from the canal locks…and the convenience of dumping their waste directly into the channel.
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The Canada Steamship Lines freighter Fairmount passed through the locks of the Lachine Canal in Montreal under the eyes of two bathers in August 1948.
Photo: Conrad Poirier Fund / BAnQ
At the beginning of the 20e century, the canal was lined wall to wall with factories, from one end to the other
explains Professor High. There was everything from flour mills to textile and tool factories to the massive Redpath sugar refinery. According to Parks Canada, more than 600 companies have occupied land along the canal during its 200-year history. It has become a nerve center for the entire Canadian economy
underlines historian Émilie Girard.
However, the golden age did not last: the waterway became obsolete with the opening, in 1959, of the St. Lawrence Seaway, which today allows ships to circulate in another canal , dredged in the river, this time.
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A cargo ship uses the St. Lawrence Seaway while in Kahnawake, you can observe construction work in the future marsh area.
Photo: Courtesy KEPO
Most of the factories closed in the years that followed, devastating working-class communities near the canal. Ms. Girard estimates that 40% of jobs in southwest Montreal disappeared during this period, and many residents moved east, towards the Port of Montreal.
A rebirth signed by Parks Canada
The canal was permanently closed to navigation in 1970, and in the years that followed it was little more than a drainage pit
underlines Steven High. Part of the canal has even been filled in.
The story could have ended there. However, in 1978, Parks Canada took possession of the site in what Mr. High said was an attempt to plant the Canadian flag there after the sovereignist Parti Québécois came to power on November 15, 1976.
The Lachine Canal was finally designated national historic site
in 1996, and Parks Canada launched a major revitalization project the following year. The canal reopened to boating in 2002, and visitors can now rent swan-shaped kayaks or pedal boats to navigate its waters.
Today, large sections of the canal are lined with upscale condo buildings, and more are still under construction. Right next to the grain silos, the old red-brick Redpath Sugar Refinery has been converted into lofts, for those who can afford to buy a little piece of history.
Very rapid gentrification
Florian Mayneris, professor of economics at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM), maintains that the revitalization of the Lachine Canal has led to gentrification of the area more quickly than in other central neighborhoods of Montreal.
Last year, the City of Montreal launched a new project to attract businesses to the canal, but with a distinctly 21e century
. The era of heavy industry is over: where factories were once located, the City now wants to attract technological start-ups and social economy businesses, mentions Benoît Dorais, mayor of the South-West district.
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One of the facades of the Haleco project building painted by Marc Séguin
Photo: Ivanhoé Cambridge
This gentrification does not please everyone. A years-long battle over abandoned Canada Malting silos has seen a community organization push for affordable housing instead of another condo project proposed by a Montreal developer.
However, the reality is that these developers are often the only ones who can afford to renovate old industrial sites. There is a lot of decontamination, underlines Mayor Dorais. And certain heritage elements must be preserved and restored. It is extremely expensive.
Mr. Dorais indicates that the developer now had all the rights to build on the Canada Malting site, even if work has not yet started.
The result of all this restoration, according to Professor High, is that developers preserve the character of the old silos and red brick facades for the benefit of people who have no connection with the working history of the area. People had a multigenerational connection to these neighborhoods, and now they can no longer afford to live there.
Two hundred years later, the Lachine Canal has cemented its legacy as a driver of Montreal’s industrial development and a key element of the metropolis’ heritage. What its future should look like, however, is less clear.
Where does the heritage rest? asks Mr. High. Is it found in bricks and mortar? Or does it actually reside in the communities and in the citizens themselves?
