The lake is named after the former Canada Dock, of which Canada Water is the surviving northern third, and which was mainly used by ships from
Canada. As with much of the Docklands, the
Surrey Commercial Docks closed in the 1970s. During the 1980s, the
London Docklands Development Corporation took over, and invested heavily in the redevelopment of the area. About half of Canada Dock was infilled and the
Surrey Quays Shopping Centre built on top of it; the remainder was converted into the present lake and wildlife refuge. An ornamental canal, Albion Channel, was created (through the site of the now filled-in Albion Dock) linking Canada Water to Surrey Water, with the spoil used to create
Stave Hill in nearby
Russia Dock Woodland. Following the earlier
gentrification of the parts of
Rotherhithe along the river, the
extension of the
Jubilee line in 1999 moved the focus to the area immediately around Canada Water. The opening of the new
Canada Water Underground station gave the area rapid connections to the rest of London, with
Canary Wharf one stop,
Westminster less than 10 minutes, and
Bond Street around 15 minutes away by underground train. The station's connection to the
London Overground network in 2010 added a quick connection to the
City of London, with a journey of around 10 minutes to
Shoreditch High Street station, near
Liverpool Street Station. The area has since been further developed, with additional residential developments, a library which opened in November 2011, and plans to redevelop the shopping mall in a first step towards creating a more traditional town centre. In 2018, architect
Allies and Morrison submitted a masterplan for area's continued development, but some of the plans for tall buildings were revised after
Historic England said the proposals would harm views of capital landmarks. Approved by
Southwark Council in 2020, the masterplan was revised in 2025 to increase the height of some buildings due to fire safety requirements for second staircases. The masterplan covers a former printworks, the shopping and leisure centre near the Dalton Cross roundabout, the dock offices and the former Rotherhithe police station, with tall buildings playing "a significant role in transforming Canada Water into a new town centre". The whole masterplan was expected to take about 15 years to deliver, In August 2022,
Phantom Peak (attraction) opened on Surrey Quays Road as a proof-of-concept and popup venue. As of July 2025, it is still operating and has received some positive reviews In November 2024 the Canada Dock Boardwalk, a 170-metre
boardwalk spanning the length of the lake, was opened to the public. A parade featuring giant puppets took place on the boardwalk to celebrate its opening. In April 2025, an experience based on the
video game Minecraft opened in a specially built building called Corner Corner. ==Freshwater lake==