River Canard, Ontario River Canard, Ontario River Canard is a hamlet of roughly 500 people in the northern part of Amherstburg, Ontario and the southern part of Lasalle, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Canard River and is approximately 12 miles south of Windsor, Ontario. It is home to St. Joseph's Church, an attractive French-Canadian church similar to St. Joachim Church in Lakeshore (now closed), and Ste. Anne's Church in Tecumseh. The town has a bowstring arch bridge that carries Essex County Road 8 over the Canard River, a tributary of the Detroit River. Originally named Rivière-aux-Canards ("Duck River") after the river,
River Canard, Ontario the community residents include descendants of the French-speaking inhabitants who originally settled the Detroit River region; they came from France and Quebec in the 18th century. Later French-speaking migrants came in the 19th century from Quebec. St. Joseph's parish still celebrates the mass in French. Replacing earlier structures, St. Joseph Church was built in 1915; it was renovated in 2015 at a cost exceeding $1.6 million, raised in large part by its parishioners. The main sub-division in River Canard is built on property formerly owned by Thomas J. Beneteau and his son, Bernard. Thomas and Bernard were farmers who grew