Key Events Impacting Canadian Business (the St. Lawrence Seaway).

The St. Lawrence Seaway is the name of the system of canals, channels and locks, which allows ocean ships sail from the Atlantic Ocean to the North American the Great Lakes up to the Lake Superior. The seaway is named for the St. Lawrence River, on which it runs from Lake Ontario to the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Seaway belongs to Canada, another part-to the United States.

There were several other channels in the region before the St. Lawrence Seaway. However, they were insufficient for the depth of ocean-going ships. F

irst proposal to create the bilateral Seaway along the St. Lawrence River and the construction of hydropower there refer to 1890-1900 years. Over the next 50 years the U.S. government and Canadian government tried to reach an agreement on the development of this project. Consensus was reached only in 1954. During following next five years (from 1954 to 1959 years) the project was completed.

Construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway contributed to the development of business and the Canadian economy in general. First of all, it gave the opportunity of cheaper transportation of grain from the Prairie provinces to foreign markets. What is more, the construction of canals and dams provided a new source of hydroelectric power. That was particular significance because industry developed rapidly and the lack of energy was expected in central Canada. In addition, the Seaway facilitates the delivery of iron ore from the richest deposits in the Labrador to metallurgical plants of the Great Lakes area. Also the large complex of hydroelectric power stations helped to develop iron ore reserves in the Ungava Peninsula (north-eastern Quebec). This was particularly important, as Mesabi iron ore deposits in Minnesota were close to depletion at that time.

So, improvement of transportation (reduction of cost and time of transportation) and the new powerful sources of electricity promoted the development of of agriculture, forestry, mining, pulp and paper, pharmaceutical and chemical industries. Moreover, export was increase. All this has created favorable conditions for private investment including foreign investment to these industry and created an internal labor market.

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