Canadian Canal Society
Image from an early Canadian Canal Society brochure
The Canadian Canal Society was founded in 1982 in Port Dalhousie, the historic port of the first three Welland Canals. The Society is a not-for-profit, educational, scientific, and historical organization, dedicated to the preservation of the canal heritage of Canada. To this end, the Society endeavours to promote the collection and publication of materials related to the preservation, documentation, and interpretation of Canadian canals. An early brochure states that:
"The Canadian Canal Society will promote the collection of the written history of canal building. It will encourage the preservation of tradition and oral history relating to canals and their operation. The Society will cooperate with all organizations interested in the documentation, preservation, restoration, and/or interpretation of canals and waterways. The Society will serve as a link among such organizations through its periodical publications. The newsletter will report the Society's member activities and those of kindred organizations".
Canadian Canal Society brochure
Their newsletter, Canals Canada/Canaux du Canada, is distributed to Society members, and regular field trips are organized for interested members. The Society liaises with similar organizations in the United States and throughout the world. As noted above, these ties are facilitated by the exchange of newsletters, bulletins, and other periodical publications that keep the Society and its members informed about canal related issues, events, and activities, in both Canada and abroad. More information on their activities can be found in the Canadian Canal Society fonds.