Following a chain of rivers and lakes across the heart of Nova Scotia which had been used by the Mi’kmaq people for at least 4,000 years, the 115 kilometre long canal was begun by several hundred labourers and a few dozen Irish stone masons imported for their experience in building British style granite locks. The construction of the canal allowed boats to travel from one side of Nova Scotia to the other without sailing all the way around it, avoiding a dangerous sail around Cape Sable at the southern tip of Nova Scotia.
By 1831 only 13 of the proposed 17 locks had been constructed and the builder, the Shubenaccadie Canal Company, was out of money. Construction came to a halt but was begun anew in 1853 when a new company, the Inland Navigation Company, was created to finish the project. Changing from the construction of the more expensive British style granite locks to the cheaper American style, the canal was brought into commercial use by 1856. It was then the longest canal in the Maritimes.
It was the completion of the railway which ultimately forced the closure of the canal in 1870, as the railway built fixed bridges over the canal in several places which would not allow for the passage of boats beneath.
The canal is named for the Shubenacadie River, a 72 kilometre river which rises at Shubenacadie Grand Lake and meanders its way north to Cobequid Bay in the Minas Basin, the northern end of the Bay of Fundy.
Today the entire length of the canal may be traversed by canoe or kayak. The canal is now overseen by the Shubenacadie Canal Commission, created 25 years ago to oversee and further promote the Shubenacadie Canal System. In the city of Dartmouth is Shubie Park, through which the canal flows.
Site Location: The ends of the Shubenacadie Canal are at Dartmouth, NS, Lat.: 44° – 39’ – 36” N; Long.: 63° – 33’ – 36” W. (GPS: 44.66, -63.56) and Maitland, NS, Lat.: 45° – 19’ – 12” N; Long.: 63° – 29’ – 24” W (GPS: 45.32, -63.49).
Plaque Location: Lat.: 44° – 42’ – 08” N.; Long.: 63° – 33’ – 15” W. (GPS: 44.70233, -63.55430).
Description: The Shubenacadie Canal was a 114 km (71 mi) navigable water route between Halifax Harbour and the Bay of Fundy. The Shubenacadie Canal Co. started construction in 1826, by contractors John Kidd and Daniel Hoard with Francis Hall as chief engineer, but went bankrupt in 1831. The Inland Navigation Company resumed construction in 1854 and completed the canal in 1861, under the supervision of Charles W. Fairbanks. The canal operations included nine locks and inclined plane marine railways at Dartmouth and Portobello.
The canal was initially successful, providing a supply route to the Waverley gold rushes of the 1860s and to support construction of the Nova Scotia Railway, although profits were marginal. Once completed, the railway offered a reliable year-round service that made the canal uncompetitive. In 1870, the Intercolonial Railway replaced the Waverley draw bridge with a low-clearance fixed crossing that severely limited canal traffic. Canal operations ended in 1871 when the Town of Dartmouth took over the Dartmouth Lakes as a water supply.
Plaque Wording: National Historic Civil Engineering Site. CSCE. SHUBENACADIE CANAL. CONSTRUCTION 1826-1861. Engineers Charles William Fairbanks, Francis Hall, Angus McDougall. Canadian Society for Civil Engineering. 1984.
From the CSCE