Canada would extend
its hands outwards to new trading partners located in the west. What
would be the best way to make the trade effective? Canada would solve
that problem by extending the railway. It would allow for faster shipment
of goods in the east-west trade partnership.
Perhaps the most
important landmarks were events that occurred in 1886. On June 28th
of that year, Canada’s first transcontinental train departs from Montreal
destined for Vancouver. It was in August of 1886 that Sir John
A MacDonald drove the last rail spike at mile 25 on the Esquimalt
and Nanaimo Railways on Vancouver Island. (*Later to become the property
of the Canadian Pacific Railroad in 1905.) The importance of this event
went far beyond a railway that spanned thousands of miles; it completed
the second part of MacDonald’s national goals of a strong Canada.
On June 3rd, 1889,
the first Canadian Pacific train arrives in Saint John New Brunswick
from Montreal. This was a historical moment as well – the trip by the
Montreal/St. John trip marked the completion of a coast-to-coast railway
system. In this day of super-sonic jets, rocket ships and personal automobiles,
it may be hard to believe that people would journey by horse and cart
for long distances. The ability for Canadians to board a train and arrive
in another place in shorter time periods was nothing less than a miracle
of technology. Of course, the travel from east coast to west coast would
still take substantial amounts of time to complete.
Not everyone liked
the idea of the train extending to the far west reaches, of what was
not yet Canada. There was a genuine fear that free-trade with the westerners
would result in easterners being financially ruined by ‘lower priced
and lesser quality’ items that would come to the east. Owners of businesses
feared the introduction of products that would compete with their products.
If free trade were to become a reality, that would mean that businesses
would not be able to make the western goods more expensive by adding
tariffs. This all but eliminated the possibility that the east-west
connection could be critical to business and livelihood of Canadian
citizens.
In 1891 newspapers
carried political cartoons depicting life before free trade and life
after free trade. The frame that held the ‘pre-free trade’ situation
showed a happy family living in a nice clean environment while the second
frame showed life after free trade as an unhappy family where the father
showed his worry by placing his head in his hands in a dejected manner,
the house was a shambles.
The free trade
debate continued in the 20th Century when Canadians battle over the
concept of free trade with the United States and Mexico. In addition
to the problems of old, Canadians could watch television, listen to
radio and read newspapers all of which provided a different knowledge
level for almost every person.
Remember that
the railroad was very important to the development and formation of
today’s Canada.
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