Honouring those who perished building the Rideau Canal

More than 500 workers died constructing
the historic waterway between 1826 and 1832

Ottawa - A new monument to workers has appeared within the shadow of Parliament Hill.

A simple Celtic cross commemorates more than 500 labourers who were killed during the construction of the 200-kilometre Rideau Canal between 1826 and 1832.

The monument is located on a peaceful hillside next to the first of eight locks that lie between Parliament Hill and the landmark Chateau Laurier Hotel, where canal system connects with the Ottawa River.

Many of the men who died during the intense construction project perished in blasting accidents, others from typhoid and malaria, still others from drowning.

Most were Irish immigrants who came to Canada desperate for work and were quick to sign up for the difficult and dangerous project, headed by a hard-driving Royal Engineer named Colonel John By. Many of the victims lie buried in unmarked graves along the waterway, which stretches from Ottawa to Kingston, at the head of Lake Ontario.

Thriving waterway

The original purpose of the canal was to open a safe shipping and military route between Montreal to the Great Lakes. Today the canal is a thriving waterway, used mainly by pleasure boats. It is operated in much the same way as when it was built.

The monument was unveiled in a ceremony that included descendents of some of the workers, Mayor Bob Chiarelli of Ottawa and Martin Burke, the Irish ambassador to Canada.

Planning and development work for the memorial was carried out by the Rideau Canal Celtic Cross Committee, chaired by Sean McKenny of the Ottawa and District Labour Council. Various groups, including injured workers and individual unions, played a role.

James Clancy

The National Union of Public and General Employees was among the organizations contributing to the memorial and providing support to the committee.

"Nothing could be more fitting than to honour the contribution made by these workers to the building of our country," says NUPGE president James Clancy.

"They gave their lives to build a great waterway, which endures to this day as one of our Canada's most treasured national landmarks. To each and everyone of these nameless workers we owe a debt of gratitude. With this monument, we will remember them and honour their place in our history."

The Celtic cross overlooking the first locks of the Rideau Canal reads: "In memory of the 1,000 workers & their families who died building this canal."

The Rideau Canal begins with a system of eight locks that raises and lowers boats between the Ottawa River and the 200Km-long canal system.

Web posted by NUPGE 2 August 2004

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