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The Lachine Canal (Canal de Lachine in French) is a canal passing through the southwestern part of the Island of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, running 14.5 kilometres from the Old Port of Montreal to Lake Saint-Louis, through the boroughs of Lachine, Lasalle and Sud-Ouest.

The canal gets its name from the French word for China (La Chine). The European explorers dreamt of finding a route from New France to the Western Sea and there on to China^[2] and hence auspiciously the region where the canal was built was named Lachine.

History[link]

View of the canal in 1850

The Lachine Canal in 1920

The canal is situated on land originally granted by the King of France to the Sulpician Order. Beginning in 1689, attempts were made by the French Colonial government and several other groups to build a canal that would allow ships to bypass the treacherous Lachine Rapids. After more than 130 years of failure, a consortium that included the young Scottish immigrant John Redpath was successful. John Richardson was Chairman of the Committee of Management of the canal project and its chief engineer was Thomas Brunett. The contractors were Thomas McKay and John Redpath, plus the firms of Thomas Phillips & Andrew White and Abner Bagg & Oliver Wait.^[3]

Work on the canal commenced on July 17, 1821 under Chief Engineer Thomas Burnett and Construction Engineer John Richardson. The original canal was 14 km. long and had seven locks, each 30 m long, 6m wide and 1.5 m deep. The Lachine Canal which was inaugurated in 1824 and opened to navigation in 1825.

The new canal officially opened in 1825, helping turn Montreal into a major port and eventually attracting industry to its banks when the Society of Sulpician Order decided to sell lots.

During the 1840s, the Lachine Canal was deepened to allow heavier ships to pass through and hydraulic power was introduced to the industries located on its banks.^[4] Through the enlargement of the canal, its use changed from solely a means of avoiding the Lachine rapids to that of an industrial region within Montreal. There were two major effects on the development of Montreal due to the enlargement of the Lachine Canal. The first was that by creating a route that bypassed the Lachine rapids and therefore opened the upper St Lawrence River to navigation, Montreal became a more convenient area for trade, effectively taking away shipping traffic from Quebec City and moving it to Montreal.^[5] The second important shift that can be noted through the growth and development of the canal is the creation of industrial suburbs.^[6] Before the Lachine Canal, Montreal’s industrial region was located in what would be considered the downtown area.^[7]

A soldier guarding the canal during wartime in 1939

The impact of the Lachine Canal on Montreal during the mid to late 19th century can be seen through the emergence of new working class neighbourhoods such as Griffintown, St Henri, Pointe St Charles.^[8] Furthermore, the population of Montreal grew by over four times between the middle of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.^[9]

One of the main reasons behind the growth of the Lachine Canal region was the access to hydraulic power which was provided through the deepening of canal in the 1840s.^[10] Throughout the mid to late 19th century, industries all along the banks of canal experienced consistent growth through the access to this energy source. However, by the end of the 19th century, factories began to utilize steam powered factories as opposed to hydraulic power.^[11] Although this switch did not initially affect the Lachine canal region in a negative manner, factories were no longer dependent on the canal as an energy source. Industries now had the option of building further and further away from the canal itself, which was also helped by the development of a railway system throughout Montreal’s industrial region.^[12]

However, while the Lachine Canal proved an enormous boom for Montreal and the Province of Quebec, time would show that for Canada's Maritime Provinces, it was the first major nail in that region's economic coffin.

The first enlargements took place between 1843 and 1848, under the supervision of Alfred Barrett. Five new locks, each 61 m long, 13.5 m wide and 2.7 m deep replaced the original seven locks. A second enlargement of the canal took place between 1873 and 1885 at which time the locks were lengthened to 82 m and deepened to 4.3 m.

The canal continued to operate successfully until around 1950, but now, surrounded by the industrial developments which it helped to create, it could not be expanded further to cope with the continuing increase in vessel size. The canal became obsolete in the second half of the 20th century, being replaced by the St. Lawrence Seaway, which opened in 1959. The canal was finally closed to shipping in 1970. The opening of the Seaway and the decline of shipping on the canal led to the devastation of the neighbourhoods that lined the canal in Montreal's Le Sud-Ouest borough due to shifting patterns of industrial development and shipping.

Locks[link]

Close up view of locks

Since 1848, the canal has had 5 locks: Lachine, Côte-Saint-Paul, Saint-Gabriel and 2 locks at Old Port of Montreal. But initially it had seven locks:

• Lachine (1 lock),
• Côte-Saint-Paul (2 lock in 1825, 1 since 1848)
• Saint-Gabriel (1 lock)
• Old Port of Montreal (3 locks in 1825, 2 since 1848).

Lachine Canal National Historic Site[link]

The canal has been designated as a National Historic Site of Canada, officially named the Lachine Canal National Historic Site of Canada.^[13][14] The Fur Trade at Lachine National Historic Site is located near the western end of the canal.

Lachine Visitor Services Centre[link]

The Lachine Visitor Services Centre is located at the entrance to the canal on Lake Saint-Louis in Lachine, Quebec. The centre features exhibits about the building and widening of the canal, and offers information about the canal and guided tours. There is also a gift shop, lookout terraces, and an outdoor interpretation trail. The centre is open seasonally.

Development[link]

Tugboat Daniel McAllister, with grain elevators behind, Lachine Canal.

A bridge over the Lachine Canal, in sight of downtown Montreal

Lachine Canal

Two people skate on the frozen canal. (January 2011).

At its zenith from 1880 to 1940, the industrial and manufacturing area adjacent to the canal was once the largest in Canada in terms of both the number of firms and diversity of its output. At one time, over 20% of the workforce of the Island of Montreal was employed in its factories. Given its historic importance, the "Lachine Canal Manufacturing Complex" was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1996, in addition to the designation already enjoyed by the canal itself.^[15][16]

Over the last two decades, the canal has seen a large increase in residential and commercial development. In what was originally a very heavy industrial neighbourhood, Pointe-Saint-Charles and Saint-Henri have become very up and coming districts. House values have sky rocketed and many real estate developers have turned the century old industrial factories and warehouses, like that of Dominion Textiles (5524 Saint-Patrick, now Complexe Dompark) & Simmons Bedding Company (4710 St-Ambroise, now Complexe Canal Lachine) into prestigious loft buildings. Complexe Dompark recently celebrated its 100th anniversary and now houses more than 90 multimedia, fashion, publishing, and service industry-based companies in custom designed lofts. The area around the Atwater Market has become one of Montreal's most desirable residential areas for condo owners. Much of this is thanks to the continued effort to clean up the Canal.

The old Redpath Sugar refinery at St-Patrick and Montmorency is now partially Lofts Redpath, converted after being abandoned since 1980.

Recreation[link]

In 2002, the Lachine Canal was reopened as a pleasure boating area, despite environmental concerns about heavy industrial contamination of its bottom, and the banks of the canal were redeveloped. An environmental reclamation project continues to clean up old oil spills. The banks of the canal offer bicycling and roller blading. Parks Canada offers guided tours of the canal by foot, bicycle, and boat during the summer months.

Crossings[link]

From east to west:

• Rail bridge
• Bridge (Mill Road)
• Bridge (Autoroute 10)
• Rail bridge
• Wellington Bridge with the closed Wellington Tunnel underneath
• Des Seigneurs Bridge
• Charlevoix Bridge with the Metro Line 1 (Green) in a tunnel
• Atwater Footbridge
• Atwater Tunnel (Atwater Street)
• Rail bridge
• Pedestrian bridge
• St. Rémi Tunnel
• Bridge (Autoroute 15/Autoroute 20)
• Côte St. Paul Bridge
• Monk Boulevard Bridge
• Pedestrian bridge
• Bridge (Angrignon Boulevard)
• Pedestrian bridge
• Lafleur Bridge and Gauron Bridge (two adjacent bridges carrying St. Pierre Boulevard)
• Bridge (Route 138)
• Rockfield Bridge (rail)
• Bridge (Museum Way)

See also[link]

• Canal de l'Aqueduc
• Grand Trunk Railway
• Montreal and Lachine Railway

References[link]

External links[link]

• Lachine Canal at Parks Canada
• Petition: Keep the parc open 12 months per year
• Lachine Visitor Services Centre

Further reading[link]

• "Waterpower, The Lachine Canal, and the Industrial Development of Montréal". IA, The Journal of the Society for Industrial Archeology 29 (1). 2003. JSTOR i40043500. 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lachine Canal

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Sam Roberts
Sam Roberts perfoming at Lollapalooza in 2007
Background information
Born	(1974-10-02) October 2, 1974 (age 37) Westmount, Quebec, Canada
Origin	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Genres	Rock, Indie Rock
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals Guitar Bass Violin
Years active	2000 - present
Labels	Secret Brain MapleMusic Recordings Universal Music Canada Cordova Bay UK Pony Canyon (Japan) Lost Highway Records (USA)
Website	Sam Roberts Band
Notable instruments
Gibson ES-335, Fender Telecaster

Sam Roberts (born October 2, 1974) is a Juno Award-winning Canadian rock singer-songwriter, whose 2001 debut release, The Inhuman Condition, became one of the bestselling independent releases in Quebec and Canadian music history.

Life and career[link]

Born in Westmount three weeks after his parents immigrated to Montreal from South Africa, Sam Roberts grew up on Cedar Avenue in Pointe-Claire, where his family moved when he was five years old. He attended St. Edmund Elementary School in Beaconsfield, Loyola High School in N.D.G. and John Abbott College in Ste. Anne de Bellevue before graduating from McGill University in Montreal. Roberts formed the band that eventually became known as William in 1993. The band's name was changed to Northstar in 1996. Although the band gained some notice in independent rock circles, they never broke through to a national audience and broke up in 1999 after failing to release an album.^[1] Roberts' bandmate George Donoso went on to significant success in indie rock circles with The Dears but Roberts struggled for several years afterward.

After disbanding Northstar in 1999, Roberts promptly recorded the full-length and now very collectible independent debut, Brother Down, at his home. In 2001, Roberts recorded and independently released a six-song EP, The Inhuman Condition. The EP sold slowly at first but following a re-release in the summer of 2002 on MapleMusic Recordings, his first single, "Brother Down", became one of the biggest Canadian hits of the year and was followed by the second single, "Don't Walk Away Eileen", in the fall.

Roberts then signed to Universal Music and released his full-length major label debut, We Were Born in a Flame, in June 2003. That album's singles, "Where Have All the Good People Gone?" and "Hard Road", received a large amount of success, although mainly in Canada.

The band's second album, Chemical City, was released in Canada in April 2006. The first single was "The Gate", which quickly shot to number one on Canadian rock radio. The second single in Canada was "Bridge to Nowhere", which won the Juno Award for Video of the Year in 2007. "With a Bullet", the third song used to promote the album on Canadian radio, received little attention and no video was made for it.

Roberts' third album, Love at the End of the World, was released in May 2008. It debuted at the number one position on the Canadian album chart,^[2] a first for Roberts. The lead single, "Them Kids", debuted on iTunes on March 4, 2008.

Sam Roberts is trilingual, speaking English, French, and Spanish. He married his high school sweetheart Jen in 2004 and they have three children.^[3]

Sam Roberts and his bandmates released their fourth studio album, "Collider", on May 10, 2011.^[4] It is the first album under the moniker "Sam Roberts Band" instead of "Sam Roberts".^[5] The first single, "I Feel You" was officially released to Canadian radio on February 28, with an iTunes Canada release of March 8.

Band members[link]

The members of the Sam Roberts Band as of 2011 are:

• Sam Roberts (lead singer, guitar)
• Dave Nugent (lead guitar)
• Eric Fares (keyboard, guitar)
• James Hall (bass)
• Josh Trager (drums)

Discography[link]

• Brother Down (2000)
• We Were Born in a Flame (2003)
• Chemical City (2006)
• Love at the End of the World (2008)
• Collider (2011)

Awards and nominations[link]

Juno Awards[link]

The Juno Awards is a Canadian awards ceremony presented annually by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

MuchMusic Video Awards[link]

The MuchMusic Video Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the Canadian music video channel MuchMusic. Roberts has received five awards from fourteen nominations.^[6][7][8][9]

Notable performances[link]

• July 31, 2003: Opening performer at Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto, otherwise referred to as SARStock, promoted to mitigate the economic downturn in Toronto following a limited outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
• June 12, 2003: National Hockey League's (NHL) NHL Awards ceremony main performer
• November 16, 2003: Canadian Football League's (CFL) 91st Grey Cup halftime show in Regina, Saskatchewan.
• July 2, 2005: Live 8 concert in Barrie, Ontario.
• January 1, 2008: AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic, outdoor ice hockey game in Buffalo, New York.
• August 2, 2008: Opened for The Eagles in Moncton, New Brunswick
• March 29, 2009: Performed at the 2009 Juno Awards
• July 18,19 2009: Performed at Folk on the Rocks, in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.
• August 7, 2009: Performed a free concert at Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, in honour of Sidney Crosby and his Stanley Cup win.
• February 20, 2010: Performed at 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.
• December 31, 2010: Performed free concert in Brampton, Ontario for New Year's Eve celebrations.
• June 25, 2011: Performed at Bobcaygeon Musicfest in Bobcaygeon.
• July 1, 2011: Performed a free concert in Ottawa on Canada Day for Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.
• September 9, 2011: Performed at University of Toronto's FROSH week.

See also[link]

• Canadian rock
• Music of Canada

References[link]

External links[link]

• Sam Roberts Band
• Sam Roberts on Myspace
• Sam Roberts at the Internet Movie Database
• Sam Roberts Band collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive