Why a canal at Coteau-du-Lac?

During the Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1783, plans for an invasion of Canada exposed a major weakness in the country’s defence system. At the time, the St. Lawrence River was the only supply route for the military posts around the Great Lakes that defended Canada’s western border, but British forces had to bypass several stretches of rapids upstream from Montréal. Carrying troops and merchandise around these obstacles by land slowed supplies and left the posts more vulnerable. Because the rapids at Coteau-du-Lac were the most treacherous section of the river between Montréal and the Great Lakes, Sir Frederick Haldimand, acting on a recommendation from Captain William Twiss, had a canal built there to speed transportation on the waterway. Of Swiss origin, Haldimand began his career as an officer in the Prussian army in 1740, was recruited by the British army in 1755, took an active role in military operations in North America during the Seven Years' War, served as military governor of Trois-Rivières from 1763 to 1764, and was named governor of Canada in 1777. Until the end of the American Revolution in 1783, he devoted much time and effort to strengthening the colony’s defences against an American invasion, and after Guy Carleton replaced him in 1786, he returned to England and spent the rest of his life there.

Quebec · Canada