plaque quest

The Ditch That Built Ontario

The Welland Canal, the towns it raised, and the old cuts still visible beside the new one.

Coming soonNiagara Region5 stops
  • Scenic route
  • History deep dive
Explore these placesComing soon
Interpretive collage of an early canal lock and Niagara Escarpment landscape for The Ditch That Built Ontario.

A preview of the stories

The plaque at the first stop describes an old canal channel as part of the route's story. The canal and its towns were built on Indigenous lands already used and travelled by Indigenous peoples. Give that context plainly; the trip is not a claim of discovery or vacant land.

Starts nearPort Dalhousie, St. CatharinesEnds nearThorold

Map data & attributions

Interpretive collage comparing timber lock gates and cut-stone canal walls across successive routes.

Story threads

  • William Hamilton Merritt’s canal-building campaign
  • The Welland Canal’s successive routes around Niagara Falls
  • The growth of St. Catharines and Thorold along the waterway
  • The canal’s role in shipping, industry and settlement
  • How old canal corridors remain visible in the landscape
  • The lives and losses behind the Welland Ship Canal’s construction
Explore these placesComing soon