Which canal in Ontario, Canada, bypasses Niagara Falls?

The canal in Ontario, Canada, that bypasses Niagara Falls is the Welland Canal.

It connects Lake Ontario at Port Weller with Lake Erie at Port Colborne, crossing the Niagara Peninsula. Because Niagara Falls made the Niagara River unnavigable for ships, the canal provides a controlled route around the falls and across the Niagara Escarpment.

The first Welland Canal opened on November 30, 1829. Its locks allowed vessels to move between the different elevations of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, making an inland shipping route possible for communities and industries around the Great Lakes. The waterway was rebuilt and realigned several times as ships grew larger.

Today’s canal forms part of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway. It includes eight locks and handles roughly 3,000 ships carrying about 40 million tonnes of cargo annually. The St. Lawrence Seaway is a larger connected system, while the Erie Canal is a separate New York waterway; neither is the specific canal that bypasses Niagara Falls.