From the water we drink to the roads we drive on, public infrastructure forms the fabric of a nation. Year after year, the government of all orders, from federal and provincial governments to municipalities, invests heavily on public infrastructure. Listed below are several important projects that are of historical significance.
- Lachine Canal, which bypasses treacherous rapids on the St. Lawrence River, was completed in 1825.
- Rideau Canal, opened in 1832, stretches over 200 km from Ottawa to Kingston.
- Continental railway was built as a promise of confederation. It was completed in July 1886.
- St. Lawrence Seaway from Montreal to Lake Ontario, a joint Canada-U.S. undertaking, became one of the great public works project of post-WW II era. It was officially opened in 1959.
- Trans-Canada Highway Act, passed in 1949, set the stage for joint federal-provincial funding of Trans-Canada Highway, which was officially opened in 1962. The whole highway was fully completed in 1971.
(Source of the three graphs: Infrastructure Canada (2011). Building for Prosperity: Public Infrastructure in Canada)