A 2020 cruise down the Rideau Canal with a houseboat rental from Le Boat/Jennifer Bain

The Rideau Canal National Historic Site and Merrickville Blockhouse National Historic Site have a new joint management plan.

Reviewed every 10 years or so, these plans are a requirement of the Parks Canada Agency Act and guide the management of national historic sites, national parks and national marine conservation areas. Work on this one began in 2016. The last plan for the canal was 2005 and the last one for the blockhouse was 2007.

“The outstanding engineering feat and natural beauty of the Rideau Canal, and the vibrant and welcoming communities it connects, beckon Canadians and visitors from around the world to immerse themselves in one of the most authentic national historic sites in the country, operating much as it did when it first opened to through-navigation almost 200 years ago,” the plan states in its vision for the sites.

“Extensive engineering works like manually operated locks, dams, and swing bridges connect boaters to over 200 kilometres of navigable waters, and countless lakes, rivers and canals across eastern North America. Historic buildings like lockmaster houses and blockhouses welcome visitors at each of the distinct lockstations, and these rich cultural landscapes showcase and interpret the layered stories of the past and present.”

The plan outlines three key strategies:

• Advance the understanding, conservation and presentation of the Rideau Canal’s rich and complex cultural and natural heritage environment.

• Realize the Rideau Canal’s full potential as an iconic Canadian outdoor destination.

• Effectively administer a 19th-century canal in the 21st century

Approaching a lock on the Rideau Canal with a Le Boat houseboat rental/Jennifer Bain

The plan includes initiatives aimed at increasing and improving collaboration with local Indigenous communities and integrating their perspectives in the overall presentation and knowledge of the site.

It’s based on input from Indigenous partners, local communities, businesses, the tourism industry, special interest groups, other partners and stakeholders, local residents as well as visitors past and present.

The Rideau Canal represents the best-preserved slackwater canal in North America, operating continuously for almost 200 years with most of its original structures intact.

The canal consists of 25 independent lock and bridge stations, including the Tay Canal to Perth. Operation of the lock and dam structures for through-navigation and water management remains a core purpose and function of the canal. The canal’s reputation as a premier destination for pleasure craft is due in large part to the high-quality service provided by lockmasters and lock operators, Parks Canada says. In the 2021 season, lock staff welcomed more than 61,000 motorized and self-propelled vessels through one or more locks.

Built between 1832 and 1833, the Merrickville Blockhouse is the largest and the most impressive of the four blockhouses built along the Rideau Canal and the second largest remaining in Canada.

The canal — one of the busiest national historic sites in Canada — welcomes nearly one million water and land-based visitors each year along its 202-kilometre (12-mile) route between Ottawa and Kingston.

The built assets of the canal —comprised of engineering works and buildings — are valued at $2.989 billion ($2.2 billion USD).