River Canard, Ontario

River Canard is a hamlet of roughly 500 people in Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada that is approximately 12 miles south of Windsor, Ontario, situated on the Canard River. It is home to a rather nice French-Canadian-style church, like St. Joachim Church in Lakeshore (now closed), and Ste. Anne's Church in Tecumseh. The town also contains a bowstring arch bridge that carries Essex County Road 8 over the Canard River, at the foot of the church.

Originally named Rivière aux Canards ("Duck River"), the River Canard community is home to one of the last vestiges of the French-speaking inhabitants of the Detroit River region, settled from France and Quebec in the 18th century. At St. Joseph's parish, one can still today (2007) hear the mass in French.

On The Map

On most maps, River Canard is shown at the junction of Essex County Roads 3 and 20 (Former Kings Highway 18). Some maps also show the area as "Loiselleville, Ontario", a name the community bore for a short period in the early 20th century.

Much of the lands were purchased by the Beneteau family. The patriarch of the family was forced to resettle from the LaSalle area (originally Sandwich West) because of what the LaSalle community deemed to be 'below standard behaviour'. The only land available was the then desolate swamp land of River Canard. At the time River Canard was not a river but a drainage swamp area which was perfect for the ducks.