ST. LAMBERT — A familiar sight and a sure sign of spring has returned to the St. Lawrence River corridor. The St. Lawrence Seaway officially kicked off its 68th navigation season March 23.
A ceremonial launch of the 2026 season was celebrated at the St. Lambert Lock in Montréal Monday morning with the Canfornav-owned vessel, the M/V Blacky being the first ship through. Officials lauded the international cooperation in the operation of the shipping waterway.
“Canada and the United States have built something exceptional in the St. Lawrence Seaway,” said Jim Athanasiou, President/CEO of the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation. “Our tonnage has remained relatively consistent year-over-year, demonstrating steady performance. As we open this season, we are continuing with initiatives to responsibly grow this vital trade corridor, support industry, economic development and communities in both countries.”
Steven MacKinnon, federal Minister of Transport said the Canadian government will continue to support the Seaway’s role in transportation.
“With supply chains facing new pressures, reliable marine corridors like the St. Lawrence Seaway are essential to our economic resilience,” said MacKinnon.
The 2025 shipping season closed just over two months ago (January 12) making this the shortest closure period in the history of the Seaway. This year is the third year of a pilot project to keep the waterway open past December 31, which has been the more recent traditional closure date for traffic.
The SLSMC, a not-for-profit corporation, has managed the Canadian portion of the Seaway system since 1998.
The Seaway system will look to improve traffic in the 2026 season. In the 2025 shipping season, traffic and tonnage was flat compared to 2024 as market fluctuations due to U.S. trade instability resulted in cuts to commodity shipping. Grain traffic made up a bulk of lost traffic, resulting in an overall 0.15 per cent increase in tonnage shipped on the waterway.
For the second year in a row, the overall number of ships that sailed the Seaway decreased — in 2025, 3,937 ships used the waterway.
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