Tay Canal Revival / Renaissance du canal Tay

Enthusiasm for canals in 19th century Canada remained high despite the flurry of railway construction after 1850. The government continued to maintain canals, including the Rideau Canal, to ensure their competitiveness. This kept alive the idea of revitalizing the Tay Canal., Perth businessmen, now promoting local mining and manufacturing, called for a shipping canal. This pressure, combined with the efforts of John Haggart, M.P. for South Lanark, brought to a reality the reconstruction of the Tay Canal. The federal government agreed to undertake the work and excavation began in 1883., The second Tay Canal followed an altered route with locks at Beveridges Bay, an artificial cut known as "Haggart's Ditch” which bypassed Port Elmsley, and an enlarged basin in Perth., The Tay Canal was formally opened and declared part of the Rideau system in September 1890., [Bottom photo captions, left to right, read] , . Within the town of Perth the basin was enlarged and wharves built, three swing bridges were erected and several old buildings demolished. The extent of the blasting and dredging caused much consternation among the townspeople. The Perth area improvements to the canal were completed by 1888., . M.P. John Graham Haggart was the moving force behind the reconstruction of the Tay Canal. The influential Mr. Haggart went on to become the Minister of Railways and Canals in 1891., . In 1891 John Haggart persuaded the government to build an extension of the canal to his mill upstream. The old bridge at Gore Street, then known as the Locke Bridge, was torn down and the channel dredged., , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .