John By

Lieutenant Colonel John By was a British military engineer sent to Canada in 1826 to build a canal from the Ottawa River to Kingston, a safe supply route away from the American border. He finished the Rideau Canal in six years, by 1832, but it cost far more than planned, and he was recalled to London and accused of spending without authority.

The settlement that grew around his works was called Bytown, and later renamed Ottawa after the river; it became Canada's capital. His canal is the oldest continuously operated canal system in North America and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On our Ottawa walk, watch the flight of eight hand operated locks stepping down beside Parliament Hill to the river, then go into the Bytown Museum in the old Commissariat, the city's oldest stone building, and remember the Irish and French Canadian workers who dug it at great risk.