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The Lachine Canal in 1920

The Lachine Canal (Canal Lachine in French) is a canal passing through the southwestern part of the Island of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, through the boroughs of Lachine and Le Sud-Ouest.

Diagram showing the canal pass through Montreal's boroughs

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. 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.

However, while the Lachine canal proved an enormous boon 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.

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

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 Sud-ouest borough due to shifting patterns of industrial development and shipping.

In 2002, it was reopened as a pleasure boating area, despite environmental concerns due to 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. It is inscribed as a National Historic Site, the Lachine Canal National Historic Site; The Fur Trade at Lachine National Historic Site is located near the western end of the canal.

Parks Canada offers guided tours of the canal by foot, bicycle, and boat during the summer months.

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
• 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)

• Montreal and Lachine Railway
• Grand Trunk Railway