SS 10 Sea to Sea Unit
Lesson 5: The Railway Gets Built
Purpose: To understand how the railway actually got built
After a difficult start, the railway was finally built as part of John A. Macdonald’s National Policy, an idea that helped his
Conservative Party once again get power after winning the 1878 Federal Election.
The National Policy had three parts. Summarize them below (186-187)
Protective Tariffs
Western Settlement
A tariff is a tax on
imports. Tariffs
were raised to stop
American
companies from
“dumping” their
cheap goods in
Canada. This would
allow Canadian
companies to sell
their goods.
If there were
settlers a farming
industry (wheat)
could be developed.
The money from
the farms could be
used to create
factories in Ontario.
Settlement also =
control.
The Canadian Pacific Railway
A railway was
needed to ship the
agricultural produce
abroad. It would
also connect
Canada to Asia as
goods could be
transported
through Vancouver.
Finding Financial Backing
If he wanted the railway to be built, Macdonald had to find some financial backers that actually would build it in
Canada. He found this backing in the form of three very wealthy industrialists who would later come to be known as the
CPR Syndicate. Name them below and give details for each (187).
George Stephen
Donald Smith
 Bank of
 HBC boss
Montreal boss
James J. Hill
 Railway investor
 Invested in an
American railway and
made a lot of money
The Deal – what did the major players get in the deal for the railway?
Government
CPR Syndicate
 Was promised
that a
transcontinental
railway would be
built within 10
years




$25 000 000
25 million acres of land
Monopoly over railway shipping for 20
years in western Canada
No tax on land
SS 10 Sea to Sea Unit
Lesson 5: The Railway Gets Built
Route Change
Refer to Pg. 187-888.
In what way was the new route different from the original planned route?
The old route went north, while the new route was farther south.
Why did the CPR Syndicate make this change?
The CPR would have more control over the land because it was not
already owned. The land was good for agriculture – the CPR could sell
it and make more money.
How did this affect the land speculators in the area?
The new route made their land not as valuable as they had
hoped. Land near the railway was much more expensive.
What impact did it have on the Canadian Pacific Survey?
The research was useless because they did not use the
information to build the new route.
View the following cartoon. What is its message?
Analyzing the Cartoon
Why does the man say “I’ll believe it when I see it? Give 2 possible reasons
“I’ll believe it when I see it”
 People thought the railway would
be too expensive
 There was no plan of how the rails
would be built through the Rocky
Mountains when they started
building it. Many thought this
would be impossible.
Early Struggles
 The project started without a plan of how the CPR would be able to get through the Canadian Rocky Mountains
 In the first year (1881), only 230 KM of track had been built.
Math Problem: The railway had been built as far as Brandon, Manitoba by the end of 1881. 1 year = 230 KM. If it had
continued at that rate, how many years would it have taken to build it to Vancouver?
 To answer you need to measure the distance between Brandon, Manitoba and Vancouver, BC. Even though
the railway was not on a straight line, you can use a straight line between Brandon and Vancouver to make
your calculation. Distance in KM _______
 Next you need to make the calculation. Do it below. Finally, write a statement answering the question.
SS 10 Sea to Sea Unit
Lesson 5: The Railway Gets Built
Calculation
1 year = 230 KM
X years = ____ KM
9.5 CM * 200 = 1900 KM
1900
230
Statement
If it continued at that rate, it
would have taken 8 years and 3
months to build the railway.
8.26 years
Problems Solved
 A new general manager was hired in 1881 to oversea the project. His name was William Van Horne.
Van Horne Fact Sheet (188-189)
Van Horne “galvanized” the CPR. What does this mean? (189)
*38 years old
*Manager of a small
American railway
*Intelligent and dedicated
*Could drive any train
*Knew Morse code, a
coded language that uses
“beeps” to communicate
*did not accept alcoholics
*People who did not work
hard were fired
*No worker rights
movements were allowed
Galvanized means to “make active”.
He made the railway more efficient
and started to build it much more
quickly.
Find evidence that he was more efficient than the previous manager (189)
500 miles (800 KM) of track were laid
in each of the next two years. That is
almost four times as efficient as the
previous manager (230 KM in a year).
Money Problems
The original money pledged by the CPR syndicate had been spent by 1883, when the railway had only reached the
Prairies. The next part (through the Rocky Mountains) would cost even more. What was Macdonald’s solution to this
problem? (189)
John A. Macdonald was able to get 22.5 million dollars to finish
the railway.
When the CPR again ran out of money, things did not look promising. Macdonald knew that if he gave more money to
the railway that he would lose the support of the Canadian people. It was at that time that the Northwest Rebellion
broke out. Canadians realized that the government needed a way to send soldiers quickly if there were problems in
the West. Canadian soldiers were able to quickly get to the NW Territory because of the railway. Because of Louis
Riel, the CPR was able to get more money from Ottawa and finish building the railway. The Last Spike was driven into
the ground on November 7, 1885 at Craigellechie, BC, signifying that the railway was complete.
Review Presentation
Each pair will be given a topic from the list below. You will need to prepare a short (1 minute) presentation to teach
the class about it. You must introduce at least two facts about your topic, work as a team, and make it entertaining.
Protective Tariffs
Canadian Pacific Survey
CPR Syndicate
Route Change
Donald Smith
Land Speculators
James J. Hill
The Rocky Mountains
George Stephen
William Van Horne
SS 10 Sea to Sea Unit
Lesson 5: The Railway Gets Built
Money Problems
NW Rebellion
The Last Spike
Rubric
1
Few facts
Not Entertaining
Little team work
2
Some facts
Somewhat entertaining
Some team work
3
At least 2 facts
Entertaining
Good team work
4
Well-developed facts
Original and entertaining
Great degree of team work