The CPR Macdonald’s first attempt at building the Railway

In the early 1870’s there was no __transcontinental railway__ connecting Central Canada to the West. In 1871, when B.C. decided to ___join confederation___. Prime Minister John A. Macdonald promised a transcontinental railway to them. It would prove to be the worlds __longest_ and most ___expensive____ railway.

The benefits of this transcontinental railway included: 1) link the West to the Rest of Canada 2)make it easier for immigration to the West (accessible) 3)discourage the US government from attempting to annex the NW Territories (current day Sask/Alberta)

Scandal Macdonald’s plan was to have a private company build the railway by giving them grants of free land and subsidies of cash. Hugh Allan of the Canadian Pacific Railway was given a job in 1873.

Scandal exposed! It was suspected that here were shady dealings between Macdonald and Hugh Allan. On April 2, 1873, Lucius Seth Huntington, a Liberal Member of Parliament, created an uproar in the House of Commons. He announced he had uncovered evidence that Sir Hugh Allan and his associates had been granted the CPR contract in return for political donations of $360,000

Resulting from this, Macdonald lost his position as Prime Minister in 1783 and Alexander Mackenzie (Liberal) was elected in his place. He was our 2nd Prime Minister and served from November 7, 1873 – October 8, 1878. – when JAM came back in power.

Mackenzie building the railway… In 1873 when Mackenzie became Prime Minister he gave out contracts to construct short sections of land so it would be constructed bit by bit, spreading the large costs over a longer period.

Macdonald’s 2nd try at the railway - The Western Interior portion of the railway In 1878 Macdonald was re-elected, promising to complete the railway quickly. The Western Interior of the Railway was under supervision of Cornelius van Horne from the USA. (remember- Corn is grown in the Interior of Canada and Corn van Horne was in charge of this area…. ;)

CPR Route This railway cut through Winnipeg allowing it to be an Immigration and a transportation center. (The original plan was for it to go through Selkirk—imagine how small Winnipeg would have been if the original plan went through-----oh dear!)

The B.C. Portion of the railway The railway in B.C. was under the supervision of Andrew Onderdonk, an engineer from New York. This area of track in B.C. was a lot more time consuming and dangerous than the Western Interior’s railway due to the rocky mountainous terrain.

Many of the workers who worked on this portion of the railway were Chinese labourers that worked for approximately $1 a day. The workers build the railway in the winter and summer, in dangerous working conditions and poor living conditions. Many people were killed by explosions, rock slides and falls. It is believed that 600 people died building that portion of the CPR. https://www.historica-dominion.ca/content/heritage-minutes/nitro