Canada is known for its breathtaking landscapes and mountain views in the West. These views have been accessible to tourists, migrators, and businesspeople alike thanks to the introduction of railways across the country. During a time when people did not own cars and air travel was virtually nonexistent, railroad travel was revolutionary. This was the first time that people could freely travel across the country and explore the world outside of their home. Canadian nationalism has increased thanks to this railway, as the country is now united by train tracks from east to west. The Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR) was the first transcontinental railway ever built in Canada, and it was originally constructed between British Columbia and Ontario. The first line, between Montreal and Vancouver, was completed in 1885. The origins of the railway construction lay in the annexation of British Columbia. Upon the province’s entry to Canada, in 1871, the provincial government was promised a railway connecting them with the rest of Canada. Therefore, the CPR was developed with the intention of keeping British Columbia as a province of Canada. Construction of the railroad began in the Eastern areas of Manitoba and Ontario in the 1870’s, and stretched out to British Columbia later on in 1881. The line also dips into the United States, covering a large portion of the continent. The introduction of the railroad was essential for the nation-building of Canada because it advanced industrialization, enhanced the labour market, and promoted immigration.
The CPR was essential to industrialization because it provided the opportunity to open up trade markets and promote the import of new goods and products. The railway united the West part of Canada with the Eastern provinces and opened up commerce across the country. It had the ability to “weld Canada into one nation from Halifax to Victoria” and give the country more nationalism as one nation. Since the Canadian Rockies took over a lot of land in British Columbia and Alberta, it had been nearly impossible to transport goods and people to the Pacific side of the country. When the CPR was built, tunnels through the mountains were dug so that the train could easily pass through. This created open and easy access straight through the Rockies and allowed for transportation to blossom. In 1905, thanks to the transportation capabilities of the railroad, the prairie provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan were set up and utilized for agriculture industries. This was made possible because the railroad allowed for goods and machinery to easily pass across the country and people could now access these areas for migration purposes. The opening of the Prairie Provinces allowed the country to gain new economic opportunities through farming and oil. Since then, oil has become one of Canada’s strongest and most profitable national exports. International trade could also be improved through the railroad, as many goods could easily be transported across the continent. This gave the country more of a variety of items that could be shipped out, opening up more economic options for the country. Trade with the United States had been a deciding factor in the creation of the railroad, as anti-British sentiment had become more popular within America and Canadian leaders feared that this would hinder north-south trade. Therefore, they needed a solution that would maintain a strong relationship with the United States and that would prevent this sentiment from getting in the way of profiting on both ends. The first line constructed on the CPR ran south from Winnipeg, Manitoba to the United States border. Maintaining relations with the United States was extremely important because of the close proximity of Canada’s southern neighbours and the cost-friendly options that were available in transportation there. This was during a time when air travel was not as popular as it is now, and traveling long distances over land was difficult without the locomotive. Overseas trading was also increased through the CPR. At this point, there had only been Canadian ports on the Atlantic Ocean, meaning that the country only had trade routes with the countries that bordered the Atlantic Ocean. Access to the Pacific Ocean meant that new routes opened up and presented more pathways for trade. There was a trading post on the Pacific Coast that made trade with the overseas Oriental nations possible, and being able to send more goods to and from this post would mean an increase in trade with Asian countries. This brought in not only new areas of trade, but new goods to import to the country that would increase the quality of life of the people and increase their culture. When the Panama Canal opened in 1914, the port in Vancouver was a popular spot for trade with South America and trade opportunities increased steadily with these areas. In this same sense, new items could be traded with South America and this provided many new opportunities for imports and for Canadians to experience new types of items.
The construction of the railroad created many new employment opportunities as well as provided transportation for people to move to other cities where there was more work to be found. After the Gold Rush ended in 1860, many people in British Columbia were out of work, and there was a slump in workers for the mines. The rest of Canada was also experiencing an economic depression in the 1870’s, which delayed the initial start of the railway project. When the construction project for the CPR began in British Columbia, the job required the manpower of about 10,000 men, which constituted almost a third of the entire population of the population. Since the Eastern portion of the railway had already begun construction, people could migrate to the West from other provinces for employment opportunities. Railways continued to benefit the country even after the CPR was completed. They were constantly expanding lines, and requiring employees to work on the trains and in the stations. Additionally, some parts of the line in Alberta and British Columbia required extra workers to be employed in the winter to prevent snowfall from building up on the railway; this way, it would not have to close for the winter. This seasonal issue alone meant that many people would now be employed through the winter, increasing job security, and new machinery could be built and developed to increase other businesses. By 1920, 10 percent of the male population of Canada was employed by a railway. Up until this point, before competitors began to get involved in the market, the CPR had been the country’s largest employer. Even as competitors rose and became more prominent in the Canadian economy, the CPR still managed to remain one of the top companies in the country. The CPR was also one of the first companies in Canada to introduce an employee pension plan, and three out of eight companies that were the first to implement pensions in the country were railway companies. This was monumental for Canadians because it allowed for the introduction of the pension in many other industries and gave way for this benefit to be applied to many people in the country. This also allowed for many people to feel secure in their economic status and allowed them to reach retirement earlier, making working conditions much better for many workers. Pensions are now increasingly available in many jobs to this day, thanks to these companies that introduced it in the twentieth century. When World War I broke out, and many wars after that, Canadian military troops were easily mobilized and sent to the country’s army bases by train, which cut down on travel time and allowed for more people to enlist. To this day, many people migrate across the country to seek new employment opportunities, particularly in the west, and the railroad is crucial in this development.
During the building of the railroad, many immigrants came to the country to find work on its construction. Since there were so many opportunities for employment on the railroad, and it took over 5 years to complete, there was a lot of room for immigrants to come to Canada and find stable work. In British Columbia, an influx of Chinese immigrants came specifically to work on the construction of the CPR. Between 1881 and 1885, roughly 15,000 Chinese immigrants arrived in British Columbia to work on the railroad. They were involved in both the construction of the railway tracks and the clearing of land, and hired on a contract basis where they worked for up to four months at a time. While many of these immigrants sent their earnings back home to China to support their families, and returned to China after their four months were up. Within this short period of time, these men had been able to save up enough money to live comfortably when they got home and had given them a good work experience to find other jobs either at home or in other countries. In turn, once one set of labourers left, another set was brought in and set up to work. The Chinese labour was so important for the construction of the railroad that in 1885 it was argued that the construction of the railroad would not have been completed without the Chinese immigrants. They constituted at least half of the workers that had been able to get the project done within the estimated amount of time. After the railroad was completed these immigrants stayed in the country and branched out to other jobs and industries. In addition, the completion of the railroad meant it was easier for immigrants to spread out among the country and populate various areas. More immigrants saw the appeal of mobilization and arrived to the country at a steady rate after 1885. In 1907 there was a large influx of Japanese immigrants who spread across the country but remained largely in British Columbia. However, many other immigrants, such as the Indian workers who came from the British Indies, remained in the country and spread out to many of the multicultural hubs such as Toronto. The immigrants that came to Canada to work provided a significant advantage to the country’s economy and allowed it to grow substantially. This has lasted since the days of the CPR construction, as Canada currently welcomes tens of thousands of immigrants every year, including many refugees as of the past year. Canada is known for its multiculturalism and welcoming of people from all around the world, and none of this would have been possible to the extent it has grown if it were not for the construction of the railroad.
The construction and introduction of the railroad in Canada was essential for the building and strengthening of the nation because of industrialization, the labour market, and immigration. The construction of the CPR was “the epic of Western Canada.” The construction of the CPR was extremely important to Canadian history and significantly changed the way that the country operated in regards to trade, industry, and commerce as well as society. The CPR was crucial in uniting the country of Canada and creating a nation that is as strong as it is today. Since its completion, the railroad created the availability of transportation for troops throughout many major wars, including World War I, World War II, and the Cold War. It has allowed people to migrate to and within the country, find other employment opportunities, and create businesses that transport goods from coast to coast. Today, the CPR is also a landmark of Canada and a popular method of travel for tourists who wish to take in the landscape of the country. Many of its stations serve as tourist destinations on their own, with many people stopping to take in the view along their travels.
References
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