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