20 March 2008
Travelling Through History
Regina Saskatchewan - Transportation takes many forms. The
transportation that formed our country was, of course, the railway.
In 1871, the Canadian government under John A. MacDonald agreed to build a railway linking the populated eastern provinces with the
less-settled Prairie provinces and the Pacific province. They promised the railway would be built in ten years, by 1881.
It took an extra five years, however, for the final spike to be driven.
On 1 Nov 1883, The Leader reported that the Canadian Pacific Railway was doing for western Canada what the Northern
Pacific did for northern America. By 1883, the CPR had been through Regina, as Lieutenant-Governor Edgar Dewdney met the
train on 23 Aug 1882.
The CPR and the NPR had long been competitors. At one time, Canadians feared the NPR would encroach into Canadian territory. This was
stopped with an Act of the Dominion that prohibited the transfer of shares in the company without the sanction of the government. In
fact, the first government of MacDonald was overthrown because it was charted with counteracting a damaging agreement with American
capitalists for the construction of the railways. But by 1883, the two railways were peaceful rivals and Canada was growing with the
railroad. As quoted in The Leader on that day, "Not until the east and west shores of British North America are connected will
Canadians and Englishmen thoroughly appreciate the capacities of the Dominion".
While the railway began running through Regina in 1882, two years later it was confirmed that Regina would be made an important railway
junction. Nicholas Davin and Walter Scott, two of Regina's leading citizens, travelled to Ottawa in February of 1884 to present to the
government the claims that Regina should be one of the railway cities. Scott returned home and reported to a public meeting that they
had spoken with Mr. Stephen and Mr. Van Horne of the CPR. After the meeting, Stephen wrote a letter to Regina with a map projecting a
branch line, which would start in Regina and run to Prince Albert, with a line running to Edmonton and southeast to Manitoba.
By 1890, construction of the Qu'Appelle, Long Lake and Saskatchewan railway had linked Regina with Saskatoon and Prince Albert. The
railway was really becoming a way of life in Saskatchewan.
The CPR was the beginning of the Canadian railways. But Canadian railways soon grew, with a variety of branch railways that would later
become the Canadian National Railway By 1904/1905, the Canadian Northern Railway had a railway running from Brandon to Regina, parallel
to the CPR line, with a promise for better branch-line service throughout Southern Saskatchewan. Scott was one of the
chief enthusiasts of the railway. As Liberal leader for the proposed province of Saskatchewan, he wanted federal aid for Regina
extensions of Canadian Northern. He was opposed, as Eastern and Maritime Liberals were apprehensive about Prairie railways. Scott won
the provincial election, but it would be another three years - not until 1908 - that he was granted the southern trunk or main line in
Saskatchewan, with branch and feeder lines extending from it.
Canadian Northern became a true competitor of the CPR in Saskatchewan when it bought the Qu'Appelle line after the CPR turned down the
offer. This transaction helped turn 1906 into the most important year of Canadian Northern's development in Saskatchewan. Two northern
railways were completed and there was a promise of federal aid for the southern line. The acquisition of the three railways completed
the development.
A third railway, the Grand Trunk Pacific railway, made Regina a central point in the southern system.
By 1906, all of the railroads pointed to Regina. One station made $2 million in Regina from freight revenues and other branches of
traffic, better than any point in the Dominion of Canada in proportion to population.
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