Building the Railway

The National Policy

• In 1878, Macdonald had a chance for re-election

• He ran on his “National Policy”

• Keep cheap US goods out of Canada

• Encourage buying Canadian

• Fill the prairies with settlers

• Macdonald is back as Prime Minister

The Canadian Pacific Railway Co.

• In 1880, CPR formed by George Stephen and Donald A. Smith

• William Van Horne was hired as supervisor

• Van Horne worked very hard to complete the track as quickly as possible

Building Issues

• Northern Ontario presented difficulties with hills, swamps and granite

• In one area, the track sank 7 times and 3 trains were swallowed up

• Dynamite and nitroglycerine were used to blast through

Nitro

• Nitroglycerine was extremely sensitive explosive

• It would explode with the slightest movement and was hence extremely dangerous

• Many men died because of explosions

Prairies

• The prairies were very easy to build on given their flat terrain

• Van Horne worked at a frantic pace as his workers ran an efficient system to complete the track

• Van Horne fired anyone who said that something could not be done

The Rockies

• The mountains were the most difficult section to build on

• Trestles were built over deep river canyons

• Many workers died due to the dangerous conditions

• Every km is said to be stained with blood

Trestles

Chinese Workers

• Andrew Onderdonk was the contractor in charge of the British Columbia stretch of track

• Onderdonk hired many Chinese workers to build as they would work for less money

Mistreatment

• Chinese workers endured racism on a daily basis

• They received roughly half the wages a regular worker would receive and were charged for room and meals leaving little extra money to return to China

Put in the Path of Danger

• Canadian supervisors often assigned the most dangerous jobs to Chinese workers

• Many feel to their deaths while working at great heights over the treacherous Fraser River

• Many died during nitro explosions

Aboriginals Peoples

• It appeared much of the railway would pass directly through Aboriginal lands protected by treaties

• The Blackfoot nearly went to war, but a crisis was averted

Money

• By 1885, the CPR was facing a shortage of money

• Crews could not be paid and some workers went on strike

• The government lent the railway money

In Business

• In 1886, the first coast to coast trip was executed

• The tracks would help bring almost a million settlers from all over the world to Western Canada