The St. Lawrence Seaway Management has announced the opening of the 2018 navigation season for the Welland Canal is scheduled to take place on March 29 at approximately 8:00 am.
At Lock 3, a top hat ceremony will be held in the St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre at 10 am for the first upbound vessel. In Port Colborne at Lock 8, Gateway Park visitors can attend a presentation at 8:30 am and view the first downbound vessel.
The opening ceremonies at the Fourth Welland Ship Canal are a historic part of our community’s heritage as captured in photographs through the years.
The Governor General of Canada, the Rt. Hon. Earl of Bessborough is shown on August 6, 1932 operating the lower control at a public ceremony when he officially opened the Fourth Welland Ship Canal on August 6, 1932. Then the largest freighter on the Great Lakes, the S.S. LEMOYNE eased into the lock chamber packed with wheat.
“It is a privilege to dedicate this canal to the trade of the world. I hereby declare the Welland Canal open to the commerce of the world,” the Governor General of Canada, the Rt. Hon. Earl of Bessborough stated at the time of the grand opening.
Today, the canal is an integral component in the St. Lawrence Seaway which continues to serve as a strategic gateway for international trade, connecting the heartland of North America to international markets around the world.
For a panoramic view of Locks 4,5,6 & 7 visit the Thorold Tourism Centre atop the Niagara Escarpment. The Lock 7 Viewing Centre welcomes visitors to watch ships navigate through the locks from a nearby distance.
The Thorold and Beaverdams Historical Society also features artifacts in exhibits of local heritage in the facility located at 50 Chapel Street South, Thorold. A series of heritage photos showcasing the Welland Canal in Thorold is also on display at Henderson’s Pharmacy, 15 Front St., S., Thorold.