Construction occurred between 1847 and 1850 after the Belgian government granted permission in 1846.

It runs about 40 km (25 mi) westward from Boekhoute to Heist-aan-Zee just south of the Dutch border.

The canal was proposed by Canon Joseph Andries [nl], local member of the Belgian National Congress, to prevent the Dutch from blocking the discharge of water and inundating the Meetjesland after Belgium's independence from the Netherlands.

This canal was a major line of German resistance during the Battle of the Scheldt in World War II.

Media related to Leopoldkanaal at Wikimedia Commons