|
A New Nation |
Nova Scotia Balks |
The Northwest Territories |
Manitoba & Riel |
Federal Provincial Relations |
British Columbia |
Prince Edward Island |
The Washington Treaty |
Scandal |
Liberal Interlude |
The National Policy |
The
Railroad |
Immigration | Rebellion
| Transition
Macdonald was back in power and the
central focus of his National Policy was the building of
the trans-continental railway. All of his promises, all
of his plans, his support, his legacy, it all revolved
around the successful building of a railway, the scope
of which no one had ever attempted before.
The deadline for the
completion of the new railway was 1891 and a private
consortium had to be formed to build and operate the
railway. With economic times picking up George Stephen,
President of the Bank of Montreal and Macdonald's
old friend and foe, Donald Smith of the Hudson Bay
Company, teamed up to form the Canadian Pacific Railway
Company.
In order to interest the Canadian Pacific
to bid on the contract to build the railway the Canadian
government had to offer very attractive terms. These
were
-
$25,000,000 n cash
-
The already
completed railway work worth about $35,000,000
-
The CPR would own
and operate the railway
-
25,000,000 acres
of western land
-
No competition
south of the CPR route for 20 years
-
A perpetual tax
exemption
The Liberals
immediately attacked the contract in the House of
Commons but no other option was readily or realistically
available. The American railways were creeping closer
and closer to the boarder, threatening to draw the west
into it's economic sphere of influence and then
potentially absorb the area into the Union.
The man that was picked to build the
railway was an American with plenty of experience and
the choice proved to be the salvation of the project.
William Cornelius van Horne was named the Chief Engineer
in charge of Construction. The project started and moved
with amazing speed. By 1882 the fort William to Winnipeg
section was complete and the railhead surged across the
Prairies setting construction records as it went. It
also spawned a land boom such as Canada had never seen
before. Land prices in Winnipeg rose to match those of
the highest in the world and speculation about the route
created boom towns all through the west. The CPR
shrewdly used their inside knowledge of routing choices
to generate enormous amounts of money but the cost of
the railway quickly ate up the profits.
By 1883 the money was just about gone and
the railway was still far from completion. The
Conservatives realizing that their fortunes rode on
those of the railway managed to pas a Bill supplying the
additional funds. By 1885 the crisis point had once
again been reached and it looked as though no more funds
would be squeezed from Canada for the railroad, until
Louis Riel once again intervened to change the course of
Canadian history. The Northwest rebellion created panic
throughout the rest of Canada and it was only because
the railway was able to transport the Canadian troops to
Saskatchewan to defeat the Métis, that the railway was
saved. The additional funds were voted to finish the
railway and on a cold fall November 7th in 1885 the last
spike was driven at a small rail siding named
Craigellachie which was the name of the last stand of
the highland clans in Scotland. Donald Smith and
Macdonald agreed that the name was appropriate.
It was completed 6 years before
scheduled, helped quell a rebellion in the west,
pre-empted any US ambitions in western Canada and
secured Canada as an Atlantic to Pacific nation. It was
the longest railroad in the world at that time and had
the be built across two of the most difficult barriers
in the world, the Canadian shield and the endless ocean
of mountains which started with the Rockies and ended
with the Coast Mountains. The National Dream had been
achieved.
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