History Hamilton Port Authority

hamilton port authority building, 605 james st n.

on april 1, 1912, act of parliament created hamilton harbour commissioners (hhc) , on may 1, 1912, first 3 harbour commissioners, george j. guy, hugh s. wallace , william j. clark took oaths of office.

the port of hamilton grew throughout 20th century, in service hamilton’s 2 major steel producers, steel company of canada, , dominion steel castings company, hamilton’s robust manufacturing economy.

the long-awaited completion of welland ship canal in 1932 brought tremendous boost in shipping hamilton industry. anticipating arrival of larger great lakes vessels , ocean freighters, commissioners had widened , deepened canal entrance lake ontario hamilton harbour. in order accommodate huge ore , coal ships had direct access harbour waters, steel company of canada , hamilton by-product coke ovens constructed larger docks. result: between 1929 , 1934 total tonnage in harbour doubled 1 2 million tonnes annually, making hamilton fourth-busiest port in country, behind montreal, vancouver , toronto.

when st. lawrence seaway opened in 1959, first ship travelling new system berthed in hamilton. cargo tonnage after first year of seaway operation higher in hamilton @ other canadian or american port on great lakes.