The Welland Canal Force

The Constant During Uncertainty

Daniel Howat

Niagara - 2024

Many Canadians have heard of the Welland Canal; a vital waterway that has become a hotspot for trade and commerce connecting Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Everyday millions of dollars of goods pass through the canal and are transported to various ports around the Great Lakes and other global ports. Before the creation of the Welland Canal, trade was very limited between the two Great Lakes. The only trading option prior to the canal was by land, which limited the capacity of goods carried and the speed at which they were transported. When the canal was finished, trade expanded as countless numbers of ships could pass from lake to lake daily, greatly extending the capacity for trade within Canada. This boom was kickstarted by the construction of the Welland Canal, which was the last link of a chain connecting every Great Lake.¹ The opening of the canal significantly expanded domestic and international trade opportunities. Today the Canal's construction is largely remembered as a grand operation, however the canal had humble beginnings as it was originally quite small with few locks.² The original locks were quite narrow and lacked depth, which greatly restricted the types of ships that could pass through. In the early 20th century, the government planned to spend over 120 million dollars to expand the number and size of the locks in order to support newer, larger ships passing through.³ The future of the Canal was bright, and it had been set to grow into an important part of Canadian commerce, the North American economy and more.

The vitality of the Canal was front and center in the eyes of the government when the First World War broke out in 1914. With intense government paranoia about an espionage style attack from within, they decided to protect their most crucial areas to enable wartime success.⁴ The canal's vitality in regards to trade, moving war supplies and the mobility it provided traders across the Great Lakes, resulted in the creation of the Welland Canal Force.⁵ The Welland Canal Force comprised of Canadian military members from local regiments, dispatched to the Welland Canal and its surrounding areas to maintain the safety and wellbeing of the canal, as it was too vital of a tool towards the war effort to lose in an attack.⁶ The Canal Force established dead zones around the canal off limits to citizens, along with other restrictions.⁷ While citizens understood the safety concerns, many felt the Canal Force overstepped its bounds and created a prison like atmosphere for the locals.⁸ The residents of the area argued their freedoms were being limited to an unnecessary extent, and that the Canal Force should reign in their reach.⁹ The rules upheld by the Welland Canal Force were a necessary creation by the government to maintain the safety of the Welland Canal because it was too important of a tool to risk losing, the parameters introduced did not overstep the line of safety over freedoms, and there was a legitimate attempt to cause harm to the canal, justifying the Canal Force's presence.

The limitations placed on the citizens of Welland during the wartime protection of the canal were justified due to the vitality of the canal not only for commerce but also for its contributions to the war effort. Furthermore, the canal was the last link of a chain connecting all five Great Lakes, and without it, trade would not be accessible all the way out to the east coast.¹⁰ Before the canal, trade between a company based in Thunder Bay and Halifax would have been an unimaginable process. With the Canal's creation, trade between these parties became a very real thing. Goods now had the ability to reach the far east from central Canada, and business was booming.¹¹

Furthermore, the Canal was a vital trade route not just for Canadian companies, but American ones as well. The canal enabled northern states to exchange goods (and in this time period valuable metals and other war supplies) with Canada, making the Canal a crucial artery for supplies during the war.¹² If the Canal were to cease to function in the event of an enemy attack, not only would Canadian companies lose a vital tool to move product in an already struggling war economy, but both Canada and the USA would lose the ability to move war supplies back and forth. The Canal was an essential part of the local economy as Welland had been built around the Canal and this hotspot for commerce boasted many opportunities for companies situated near it to mobilize their goods for trade immediately with a huge range of destinations.¹³ Not only had companies popped up around the canal, but local vendors, small businesses, and general stores set up shop near the Canal as well.¹⁴ With the influx of traders and supply runners passing through Welland, the demand for common goods and services on their journey was present, and the locals capitalized on the opportunity. The Welland Canal played a vital role not only to keeping the economy up and running in a dire time, but the loss of the canal would immobilize supplies desperately needed to create and send supplies to soldiers overseas.

Furthermore, the advantages of the proactive measures protecting the canal outweighed the disadvantages despite citizen pushback on the Welland Canal Force's rules and methods. During the war there was immense paranoia in Canada about an attack from within, as an attack from a small group of German spies seemed much more plausible than a full blown assault on the home front.¹⁵ This led to a widespread fear of foreigners within Canada, as any immigrant from an axis powers country was regarded as suspicious and a possible spy.¹⁶ These fears led to the creation of the Canal Force's precautionary measures. These measures included creating perimeters in the immediate areas surrounding the canal in which trespassers would be arrested during the day, and shot on sight at night time.¹⁷ Members of the public were required to obtain permits in order to cross or even just get near the canal.¹⁸ These feelings about the Canal Force overextending their power became more prominent when the Canal Force was instructed to expand their lockdown-style policies to landmarks and border crossings, as seen in Figure 1, with the Canal Force extending their rule to the Queenston Lewiston Border Crossing.¹⁹

When the reach of the Canal Force and their rules expanded throughout the Welland/Niagara area, the locals began to feel the weight of the new restrictions. Many new areas had the same rules as the area surrounding the Welland Canal and locals argued that they were living in a police state with their freedoms being unfairly suspended.²⁰ Locals argued the Canal Force was overexerting its power on citizens who had done nothing wrong, and their efforts were too focused on keeping harmless locals at bay instead of keeping real, spy threats away.²¹ There had been multiple instances of locals being held at bayonet's end, and arrested by soldiers for trespassing in areas they were used to frequenting on a daily basis.²² Instances like this led to an increase in tension between the two parties, as well as articles bashing the Canal Force for its actions and policies. This escalated to the extent that a member of the Canal Force took to the local newspaper to address the citizens.²³ The individual from the Canal Force claimed that the citizens of St Catharine's should show some thanks for the efforts of the Canal Force, as they had mainly received hate from the locals in the form of newspaper articles which claimed they were doing unimportant work and being verbally abused by many whom they interacted with.²⁴ While many felt frustrated, this hate was undeserved, as although the locals did have to endure a change from their prewar lifestyles, their extreme responses were ignorant of the fact that there were real threats to the safety of the canal and Niagara region. Having the canal unusable would be far more of an inconvenience than temporarily restricting a few citizens' lifestyles. Trade would hit a standstill, the local economy would suffer from a lack of traders and supply carriers coming through, businesses would lose revenue, and the Welland/St. Catharine's region would be a shell of its former self.

Conversely, not only was the Canal Force and their rules justifiable because of the effects losing the Canal would have, but also because there was real danger to the Canal in terms of foreign sabotage. While there were elements of extreme paranoia during the war, the fear of sabotage was justified with the uncovering and halting of an actual attempt by German spies to destroy the canal. The Germans realized the importance of the canal to the Canadian economy and war effort, along with the incredibly negative impacts that would be felt if it was lost. Germany specifically wanted to limit the supply of food and war materials coming into Canada as they knew this would greatly hinder the supply chain to allied forces in Europe.²⁵ Germany sent orders to German loyalists living in North America to destroy the Canal, and plans were hatched. One of the men recruited was Paul Koenig, police superintendent for the Hamburg-American shipping line.²⁶ Koenig created a plan with other German spies which consisted of blowing up the Canal by sending dynamite down it in a small boat which would explode when it reached the lock in the Canal.²⁷ Before any of this could happen, the conspirators were caught, trialed and jailed, keeping the safety of the Canal intact.²⁸ While this plan was thwarted by investigators and the Canal remained safe, it came far too close to fruition to ignore.²⁹ The danger to the canal was obvious, showing the need for the rules put in place by the Canal Force. The publication of these transpired events also made citizens of the Niagara region recognize these parameters to be legitimate as there was now evidence that the Canal Force had protected the waterway, and the Niagara region.³⁰ The unoccupied area created by the canals where people were not permitted entry helped keep the conspirators away, and the permits to pass though or over the canal would keep spies from surveying the locks to plan attacks.

Furthermore, more plots were uncovered to destroy the Canal over the period of war, but thanks in part to the Canal force, they did not come to fruition.³¹ Not only did the Canal Force itself thwart attacks, but its mere presence on the canal made planning any attacks extremely difficult. With the complete lockdown of the canal, conspirators now had to plan around the constant supervision and heavy firepower of the Canal Force, making plans either impossible or far more difficult to put together. The Canal Force's presence was again justified this time since they thwarted real attempts on the canal, showing the need for their occupancy of the Welland area. If not for their presence and firm rules, it is unlikely the canal would have gone unscathed during this period.

In conclusion, while the creation of the Welland Canal Force and the rules they upheld in wartime Welland and St Catharines received criticism from locals, their creation was necessary because the Welland Canal was too vital of a tool to Canada and the war effort to lose. The canal completed a Canadian chain of trade which spanned across all five Great Lakes, supporting the transport of bulk cargoes to Canadians across the country, as well as supporting international trade. In addition, the canal was a vital part of transporting war supplies, greatly aiding the allied forces in the fight. Furthermore, the rules put in place had greater benefits than disadvantages to the locals and all of Canada. While the locals showed great disdain towards the Canal Force, it is evident their rules were justified as if something were to happen to the Canal its impact would be felt much harsher than the impact of the temporary restrictions. Finally, the Canal Force's presence was justified and seen as legitimate by the citizens after the uncovering of the attempt to destroy the Welland Canal. Such planned attempts often consisted of trying to blow up the Canal, which displayed a clear need for the rules the Canal Force put in place. The malicious attempts that occurred solidified that there were legitimate reasons for the paranoia and creation of rules. The creation of the Welland Canal Force and the rules they upheld were necessary due to the canal's vitality to trade and the war effort, the fact that the rules enforced had more benefits to the safety of the region than inconveniences, and the real danger the Canal faced from foreign conspirators to destroy it.