Work was suspended several years later, the company went into receivership and the project was taken over by the provincial Ontario Hydro in 1933.
In early years, construction and later support staff came by Ontario Northland Railway train to Fraserdale, then further by private siding, or used floatplanes.
In 1966, a road connection via Fraserdale to Smooth Rock Falls, Ontario was built, designated today as Highway 634.
In the early 1960s Ontario Hydro released a documentary, Call of the Canyon, about the community and the construction of this road.
Island Falls is a weather station located approximately 36 km (22.4 miles) to the south of Abitibi Canyon.