Port Colborne, Ontario

3 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 7 CITY OF BORNE NTARIO O ften when people think of a thriving marine port, they jump to Los Angeles, Vancouver, and other large oceanside locations, but North America’s Great Lakes are home to some of the busiest freshwater shipping lanes on the continent. Among those is the City of Port Colborne, Ontario, which is the terminus of the Welland Canal. Without the port and the businesses that support the marine shipping industry there, the gateway to Lake Erie’s American ports would make shipping much more difficult. Originally built in 1824, the Welland Canal is now in its fourth iteration and will soon reach its 200th full shipping season anniversary. The Welland Canal cuts across the Niagara Peninsula to connect Lake Ontario and Lake Erie and also allows the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway to connect. It runs from Port Weller in St. Catharines to Port Colborne and enables ships to avoid Niagara Falls while ascending and descending the Niagara Escarpment. The Welland Canal passes about 3,000 ships which transport about 40,000,000 tonnes of AT A GLANCE PORT COLBORNE, ONTARIO WHAT: A thriving marine community; population 20,000 WHERE: North shore of Lake Erie on the Niagara Peninsula WEBSITE: www.portcolborne.ca , WHERE YOUR SHIP COMES IN