Transportation: Canada’s
Circulatory System
Chapter 27
Definitions
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Transportation: movement of people
and things from one place to another
Mobility: freedom of movement
Intercity: movement between cities.
For example: an intercity bus
between Winnipeg and Regina
Intracity: movement within a city.
For example: an intracity bus moves
people from their home to school
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Commuter: person who travels daily
between home and the place of work
Deregulation: removal of regulations
controlling certain parts of an industry.
For example: deregulation of the airline
industry removed rules controlling routes
travelled and the price of seats
Bulk Cargoes: things like wheat, coal,
gravel and iron ore shipped in loose form
rather than in packages. They are usually
of low value and must be shipped as
cheaply as possible.
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Unit Train: train that carries large
amounts of only one cargo along a
route. For example, coal is carried
from the interior of BC to Vancouver
for shipment to Japan.
Piggyback System: system whereby
truck trailers are transported on
railway cars
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Container: metal box of standard
size used for moving freight. The
container is loaded at the point of
shipment and remains sealed until it
reaches its destination. Along the
way, it may be moved by truck,
train, plane or ship
Canal: waterway dug across land on
which boats and ships travel
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Lock: enclosed section in a canal
that permits vessels to be raised or
lowered to different water levels
outside this compartment, either by
letting water in or out of the
compartment or, in a lift lock, by
raising or lowering the water-filled
compartment itself
Pipeline: line of pipes for carrying
gas, oil, or other liquids
Figure 27-4, page 395
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Describe the amount and coverage of
ground transportation in Zone A.
• There is continuous ground
transportation in Zone A using road and
rail.
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Why is this pattern not surprising to
you?
• Because over 90% of Canada’s
population is concentrated within this
zone
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Describe the pattern of surface
transport in Zone B. Why do gaps
exist?
• Gaps are obvious in Zone B on the map
because there is ground transportation
to only a few towns where there is
sufficient economic activity and
population to justify building a highway
or a railroad.
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With the help of an atlas, explain
why surface transport exists to each
of the following places:
Inuvik, NWT: Inuvik is the take-off
point to the Mackenzie Delta and the
Arctic Ocean, where considerable oil
and gas exploration has occurred. It
is the last settlement before these
areas and the administrative centre
for the area
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Yellowknife, NWT: This is a major
mining centre and territorial capital
Fort McMurray, AB: Fort McMurray is
the centre of the oil sands industry
Lynn Lake, MB: Lynn Lake is a
mining community
Churchill, MB: Churchill is a port
facility. Prairie grain can be shipped
from here for export to the markets
of Europe
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Moosonee, ON: Moosonee is the
service centre for a series of
settlements on the shore of James
Bay. The railway to Moosonee also
brings in tourists on the train known
as the Polar Bear Express
La Grande Riviere, PQ: the road was
built to aid the construction of the
hydro-electric facilities built on La
Grande Riviere in the 1970s and
1980s
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Churchill Falls, Nfld: The road was
built here to service the construction
of the hydro-electric facility on the
Churchill River. IT will also be a
great help in the next few years in
the building of a second huge hydroelectric facility on this river
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What would cause new areas to be
added to Zone B in the future?
• New land transportation facilities would
be added in Zone B to service new
resource development in the area. For
example, a road has been proposed
from Yellowknife to Bathurst Inlet on the
Arctic Ocean. This road would be built
to support the operations of the
diamond (and other) mines that exist
and are being built in this area.
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Why does surface transport not exist in
Zone C?
• No economic demand for it yet
• Resources found in these areas that are
developed, such as the Polaris mine, rely on
sea and air transportation
• Existence of permafrost makes the building of
land transportation costly and difficult
• Exploration for resources does not occur
because transportation systems do not exist,
but such systems are not built because there
are not enough resources to justify building a
road or railway
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What alternative transportation
methods must be used in these
areas?
• Water transportation can be used to
move bulky cargoes during the brief
navigational seasons
• Airplanes must be used at other times
• Over shorter distances, land transport
occurs using snowmobiles in winter
Movement of Goods!
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What are bulk cargoes? See previous
Rank the various forms of transportation
in terms of their suitability to move
cargoes.
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Ship
Pipeline (for oil and gas)
Rail
Road
Air
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What is a unit train? Why is it an
efficient way to move bulk cargoes?
• A unit train carries only one cargo along
a fixed route. It uses special cars
designed to carry the particular cargo so
that it can be loaded and unloaded
quickly, and hence more cheaply
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Give three examples of unit-train
routes and cargoes.
• Labrador to the St Lawrence River: iron
ore
• Rocky Mountains to Vancouver: coal
• Prairies to Vancouver and Thunder Bay:
wheat
• Saskatchewan to Vancouver: potash
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Name and describe two methods that
have been developed to allow easy
transfer of cargo from one method of
transportation to another.
• Piggyback system: truck trailers that
can be loaded onto rail flatbeds
• Containers: large metal boxes that can
be moved by rail, truck, ship and air
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How do these methods combine the
advantages of the different methods
of transportation?
• These methods take away the necessity
of unloading cargo and reloading it
piece by piece. As well, the containers
can be shipped to the customers’ door
with very little chance of theft or
damage
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Outline the four different regions in
which ships are used to move cargo
in Canada.
• West Coast: Used for destinations in
the Pacific Rim
• Outgoing cargoes include lumber, coal,
potash and wheat: incoming cargoes
include containers of freight and motor
vehicles
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East Coast: Halifax, Saint John and
Montreal are used for a variety of cargoes
that contain more container freight and
less bulk cargo
St Lawrence Seaway: This series of
canals and locks link the St. Lawrence
River and the Great Lakes, and allow ships
from the Atlantic Ocean to reach Lake
Superior. It is important for the
movement of bulk cargoes from one part
of the Great Lakes basin to another. It is
also used for importing container freight.
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Canada’s Far North: Freight must
be moved by either air or water as
distances are great, the climate is
harsh, and land transport is not
available. Water is used where
possible. The Mackenzie River, for
example, is used for shipment of
bulk cargoes of oil products, building
materials, machinery, and year-long
supplies of groceries for residents
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What types of cargo are carried by
airplanes? Why?
• Cargoes carried by airplanes tend to be
small, of high value, perishable, and/or
needed quickly. The considerable
expense of air transport is weighed
against these constraints.