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Mind, you CAN build trade canals in EU3. They're called "Canal" and they're a province improvement :p.

Canals allowing movement of large fleets are a different thing.
Indeed


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Buy and install DW today and you will be able to build a a super giant swimming pool in Panama! It gives 10% bonus to the province's trade good value and is also prerequisite to Road Network, Post Office and Customs House! Because swimming pools are cool like that.
 
Suez is technically possible at that timeframe, but impractically expensive due to everything having to be done by hand. Panama isn't possible becuase the technologies to make it possible didn't becomes realistic till well after that timeframe. Major canals came into there own becuase of the industrial revolution machinery. As you know the industrial revolution happens after this games timeframe.

As to the jetpack reply, they actually do exist. There is even a water jetpack that is in production versus the prohibatively expensive other versions(the water one is only one hundred and thirty thousand versus millions to build the others)