Welland Canal Opens for 2019 Shipping Season

Photo Credit: St. Catharines Museum & Welland Canals Centre Facebook

March 22, 2019

By: Marcie Culbert

The Welland Canal is open for the 2019 shipping season.

This marks the 190th consecutive year for the canal.

A top hat ceremony in Port Colborne this morning will welcome the captain of the first down-bound vessel.

Another ceremony is planned for St. Catharines on Tuesday. That will be the first up-bound vessel to use the canal this season.

More than 40 million tonnes of cargo moved through the St. Lawrence Seaway last year. That's up about 14 percent since 2016.