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 at the junction of Essex County Roads 3 and 20 (Former Kings Highway 18), which were constructed much later. River Canard was the site of the Battle of River Canard between British and American forces on July 16, 1812, during the early days of the War of 1812. An American force of 280 men under colonels Cass and Miller skirmished with British troops near the bridge. Two British soldiers, James Hancock and John Dean, were captured by the Americans. Hancock died of his wounds later in the day, becoming the first British casualty of the war. Dean was taken prisoner