Trent Canal, waterway system, 240 mi (386 km) long, S Ont., Canada, connecting Lake Ontario, from the Bay of Quinte, with Lake Huron at Georgian Bay; built 1833–48. It utilizes the Trent River to Rice Lake, the Otonabee River through Peterborough, the Kawartha Lakes and artificial channels to Lake Simcoe and Lake Couchiching, and the Severn River to Georgian Bay. The system, with numerous dams and locks, has only 20 mi (32 km) of artificial channels. It was designed primarily to shorten the shipping route between lakes Ontario and Huron but has proved more valuable as a source of water power. Used mainly by pleasure craft, it is open to navigation from May to October.

Trent Canal

Canal, southeastern Ontario, Canada. Linking Lake Huron with Lake Ontario, the canal extends from the southeastern shore of Georgian Bay up the Severn River to Lake Simcoe, connects several lakes of the Kawartha Lake region to Rice Lake, and passes down the Trent River to the Bay of Quinte and Lake Ontario. Its 242-mi (389-km) main course consists of 33 mi (53 km) of man-made channels and 42 locks. Construction began in 1833. The waterway once served a busy lumber trade; it is now a popular tourist attraction.