The Leopold Canal ( or Leopoldvaart, ) is a canal in northern Belgium. Construction occurred between 1847 and 1850 after the Belgian government granted permission in 1846. It runs about westward from Boekhoute to Heist-aan-Zee just south of the Dutch border. It is between deep. The canal was proposed by Canon , local member of the Belgian National Congress, to prevent the Dutch from blocking the discharge of water and inundating the Meetjesland after Belgium's independence from the Netherlands. This canal was a major line of German resistance during the Battle of the Scheldt in World War II. See also Ghent–Terneuzen Canal Braakman External links Canals in Flanders Canals in West Flanders Assenede Knokke-Heist Canals opened in 1850