The canal began with the dock at St. Peter's Basin (Bassin Saint-Pierre), in the downtown area of Caen.

It acts as the fourth commercial French port for the importation of exotic wood, generally coming from the Gulf of Guinea.

One of the two locks at the port of Ouistreham, at the mouth of the canal, can accommodate ships of more than 200-metre (660 ft) length.

The famous Pegasus Bridge (aka "Ham"), from D-Day, June 6, 1944, crossed the canal near the village of Bénouville.

The canal was considered both tactically and strategically important during the opening phases of the Battle of Normandy, as it was located on the eastern flank of the Allied beachhead area.