History of the St. Lawrence Seaway

The St. Lawrence Seaway is the system of locks, canals, and channels that permits ocean-going vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, including the St. Lawrence River which follows from Lake Ontario to the Atlantic Ocean. Beginning in the 1890s, the first proposals for a binational U.S. and Canadian comprehensive deep waterway along the St. Lawrence River were developed. Since its inception and continuing today, the Seaway has remained invaluable for American and Canadian trade.

Throughout its history, the St. Lawrence Seaway has remained available for the marine transportation industry as a safe, secure, reliable, efficient, and competitive deep draft international waterway. Today, maritime commerce on the Great Lakes Seaway System annually sustains more than 227,000 U.S. and Canadian jobs, $14 billion in personal income, $35 billion in transportation-related business revenue, $6 billion in local purchases, and $5 billion in federal, state, provincial, and local taxes.

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History of the St. Lawrence Seaway