With growing competition from railroads and highways, and the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959, commercial traffic on the Erie Canal System declined dramatically in the latter part of the 20th century. Today, shipping takes place from the Atlantic Ocean to various ports on the Great Lakes using the St. Lawrence Seaway System.

The system was a joint venture of Canada and the USA to finally make a fully navigable waterway system so that a large vessel could travel from Montreal to Lake Erie.

The construction was an engineering miracle. It includes 13 Canadian locks, 2 US locks, and 5 short canals that make the system fully navigable for large freighters.

Both lake and ocean-going cargo ships enter the Gulf of St. Lawrence from the Atlantic Ocean and can go as far west as Duluth, Minnesota (the western tip of Lake Superior); or south to the tip of Lake Michigan (Chicago); or Windsor/ Detroit along the St. Clair River; or into Upper New York State through the Welland Canal into Lake Erie.

Today, the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River form the longest deep-draft navigation system in the world, extending 3,700 kilometers (2,300 miles) into the North American heartland. Almost 25% of Seaway traffic travels to and from overseas ports, especially from Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Every day various types of ships – cargo freighters, tankers and ferries carry loads from North America’s largest ports; including Toronto.

Boat Types And Waterways and Ports

Some boats are especially made to transport bulk cargo like coal. Others carry bagged food! There are boats that only travel the fresh water lakes (lakers), and others that travel the oceans (called salties).

They may have traveled from northern Ontario, starting at the Port of Thunder Bay on Lake Superior, or from the US, perhaps Milwaukee or Chicago. But others have come down the St. Lawrence Seaway from South or Central America, Europe or Asia.

In addition to Toronto, there are over 100 commercial ports in the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Seaway transportation system. Some ports are single docks; others, like in Toronto harbour, include multiple docks fully equipped to handle large, sea going vessels.

Heavy, Awkwardly-Shaped Cargo

There are real advantages in transporting goods over the water. For example, many items carried by large freighters could not be carried by trucks or railway cars because of their awkward shape or size. Such items include huge pieces