diff --git a/kombu/connection.py b/kombu/connection.py
index b34822eb2..cce316040 100644
--- a/kombu/connection.py
+++ b/kombu/connection.py
@@ -392,7 +392,7 @@ def connection(self):
         if self._closed:
             return
         if not self._connection or not \
-                self.transport.verify_connection(connection):
+                self.transport.verify_connection(self._connection):
             self._connection = self._establish_connection()
             self._closed = False
         return self._connection