By: Chelsea Edgell

The success of the Erie Canal in New York State prompted a rash of canal-building in Ontario. Some of Canada's best-known canals, including the Rideau and the Welland, were built in Ontario during this time. In Newmarket, farmers and businessmen were growing frustrated with freight trains and roadways, then both inefficient and expensive methods of shipping products to market.

The idea of a canal linking Lake Ontario to Lake Simcoe along the Rouge and Holland river systems existed on paper as early as 1800, but by 1850, the canal yet remained no more than an idea. After the Trent canal was completed in 1904, Sir William Mulock (then Newmarket's Member of Parliament) and many of the town's civic leaders went to Ottawa to lobby the government for a canal of their own.

The project was approved and construction began in 1906, despite the warnings of engineers that the watershed might not be able to provide enough water flow to operate the canal.

The canal was to be built in three sections. By the summer of 1912, the first two sections of the canal were complete, a structure including three lift locks, three swing bridges, and a turning basin.

Unfortunately for the project, World War One and the new government of Robert Borden intervened and cancelled the construction of the canal. Apparently, the warnings of the engineers had come to fruition: there was insufficient water.

Today, the turning basin has been filled in to become a parking lot, and most of the locks and bridges are deteriorating and disappearing. However, several of the structures are still intact.

A visit to the ghost canal makes an interesting and relaxing activity for those interested in local history and those who enjoy the outdoors. One lock structure may be seen in Holland Landing, where old Yonge Street enters the village. Another, possibly the best to visit, lies in the conservation area east of Holland Landing.

The conservation area is an excellent location for hiking, and visitors can see the ghost canal and the old lock. One trail parallels the canal, following it to Green Lane, where stand the remains of a swing bridge. The third surviving lock can be found in the north end of Newmarket.