Editing Upper Canada (section)

====Desjardins Canal====
The '''Desjardins Canal''', named after its promoter Pierre Desjardins, was built to give [[Dundas, Ontario]], easier access to [[Burlington Bay]] and [[Lake Ontario]]. Access to Lake Ontario from Dundas was made difficult by the topography of the area, which included a natural sand and gravel barrier, across Burlington Bay which allowed only boats with a shallow draft through. In 1823 a canal was dug through the sandbar. In 1826 the passage was completed, allowing schooners to sail to neighbouring [[Hamilton, Ontario|Hamilton]]. Hamilton then became a major port and quickly expanded as a centre of trade and commerce. In 1826 a group of Dundas businessmen incorporated to compete with Hamilton and increase the value of their real estate holdings. The project to build Desjardins Canal continued for ten years, from 1827 to 1837, and required constant infusions of money from the province. In 1837, the year it opened, the company's income was £6,000, of which £5,000 was from a government loan and £166 was received from canal tolls.