The development of steam-powered railways in the 19th century revolutionized transportation in Canada.
February 25, 1832
First Railway Incorporated in Canada
The Champlain and St Lawrence Railroad Company was incorporated, the first railway legislation in Canada.
July 21, 1836
First Railway Opens in Canada
Canada's first railway, the Champlain and St Lawrence Railroad, officially opened; it began operations on July 25. The railway heralded the most important change in transportation in Canadian history.
September 19, 1839
Albion Mines Railway
A celebration marked the opening of the first 4 kilometers of the Albion Mines Railway in Pictou County, NS. It was the second steam railway in Canada, and the first to use standard gauge.
March 17, 1845
St Lawrence and Atlantic RR
The St Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad was chartered to build a line between Montréal and Portland, Maine, giving Montréal year-round access to the Atlantic.
October 11, 1850
Railway to Longueuil Opens
The St Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad was opened from Longueuil to Richmond, Québec.
January 27, 1854
Great Western Railway Opens
The Great Western Railway opened its main line between London and Windsor, Ont.
October 27, 1854
Rail Disaster at Chatham
At Baptiste Creek, 24 km west of Chatham, Ont, a gravel train was hit by an express train that was running 7 hours late. The accident killed 52 and injured 48 others, the worst rail disaster in North America to that time.
November 17, 1856
Grand Trunk Completed
The Grand Trunk Railway was completed from Guelph to Stratford, Ont; the last stretch from St Marys to Sarnia was finished on November 21. The GTR was a significant factor in the economic development of Canada.
March 12, 1857
Desjardins Canal Train Disaster
A Great Western Railway passenger train crashed through the rotting timber bridge over the Desjardins Canal, near Hamilton, Ont, killing 59 people.
February 08, 1858
Railway to Truro Opens
A railway opened from Halifax to Truro and Windsor in Nova Scotia.
June 29, 1864
Rail Disaster at St Hilaire
A Grand Trunk Railway train plunged off the Beloeil Bridge into the Richelieu River at St-Hilaire, Qué, killing 99 people and injuring another 100. It was Canada's worst train wreck.
September 01, 1864
Cartier Attends Charlottetown Conference
At the Charlottetown Conference in 1864, Sir George-Étienne Cartier led the Canadian case for a great confederation of all the colonial provinces, inspiring the Maritime delegates with a commitment to build the Intercolonial Railway.
January 01, 1870
Cartier Encourages BC to Join Confederation
Sir George-Étienne Cartier welcomed British Columbia delegates John Sebastian Helmcken, Joseph Trutch and Robert Carrall to Ottawa in June 1870, and promised them a transcontinental railway if British Columbia joined Confederation (the delegates had planned only to ask for a wagon road east).
February 09, 1879
North Shore Railway Complete
The North Shore Railway between Montréal and Québec City was completed.
December 23, 1879
Fraser Canyon Rail Extension
Railway contractor Andrew Onderdonk signed an agreement with the Canadian government to extend the CPR through the Fraser Canyon.
February 16, 1881
The Canadian Pacific Railway Company was incorporated.
June 01, 1883
CPR Arrives in Alberta
The Canadian Pacific Railway arrived in Alberta, at Medicine Hat.
January 01, 1885
Chinese Labourers and the CPR
Some 15,000 Chinese labourers completed the British Columbia section of the CPR, with more than 600 of them perishing under adverse working conditions during this essential construction. Largely because of the trans-Canada railway, Chinese communities developed across the nation.
September 15, 1885
Death of Jumbo
A Grand Trunk Railway locomotive struck and killed Jumbo, beloved circus elephant in Barnum and Bailey’s “Greatest Show on Earth,” near St. Thomas, ON. The autopsy showed that Jumbo’s stomach contained “a hat-full” of English pennies, gold and silver coins, metal trinkets and a police whistle, among other things. The death of the elephant made headlines world-wide.
November 07, 1885
Last Spike Driven for CPR
The “last spike” of the Canadian Pacific Railway was hammered by Lord Strathcona at Craigellachie, British Columbia. This fulfilled a government promise to connect BC to Eastern Canada via a transcontinental railway. Among the workers who built the railway were 15,000 labourers from China, many of whom died during the railway’s construction.
August 13, 1886
Macdonald Drives Last Spike
Prime minister Sir John A. Macdonald, on his only visit to BC, drove the last spike on the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway at Cliffside near Shawnigan Lake.
November 27, 1891
Railroad Opens from Seattle to New Westminster
A subsidiary of the Great Northern Railroad, an American competitor to the Canadian Pacific Railway, opened from Seattle to New Westminster, BC.
July 29, 1900
White Pass and Yukon Railway
The last spike was driven on the White Pass and Yukon Railway, which ran from Skagway to Whitehorse.
September 10, 1904
First Train Robbery in Canada
“Gentleman Bandit” Bill Miner and two accomplices were involved in Canada’s first train robbery. They robbed a Canadian Pacific Railway car near Mission, British Columbia, of $7,000.
November 24, 1905
Canadian Northern Completed
The Canadian Northern Railway was completed to Edmonton.
May 17, 1906
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway Begun
Construction on the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway began at Prince Rupert with the construction of a tool shed and the erection of tents as accommodation.
August 12, 1909
Freight Handlers Strike
Fort William (Thunder Bay), Ont, was placed under martial law as Greek and Italian strikers engaged Canadian Pacific Railway police in a protracted gun battle.
January 21, 1910
Sudbury Train Disaster
A broken rail caused derailment of a CPR passenger train west of Sudbury, killing 43.
March 12, 1912
Fraser River Railway Strikes
Railway workers organized by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) walked out of construction camps on the Canadian Northern line to protest conditions.
August 19, 1913
Special Railway Fare for Prairie Harvesters
Railways offered a special fare of one cent per mile to the prairies for workers who would help bring in the anticipated record-breaking harvest. The demand was estimated at 40,000 extra harvesters, and thousands of young Canadians, many from the Maritimes, responded to the call.
November 17, 1913
National Transcontinental Complete
The last spike was driven on the National Transcontinental Railway, which had begun work in 1903 and ran from Winnipeg, via Sioux Lookout, Kapuskasing, Cochrane and Québec City, to Moncton, NB.
April 07, 1914
Grand Trunk Pacific Completed
The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was completed to Nechako, BC. The first train arrived at Prince Rupert on April 9.
January 23, 1915
Canadian Northern Railway
The last spike was driven on the Canadian Northern Railway at Basque, BC.
June 06, 1919
Canadian National Railways Incorporated
Canadian National Railways was incorporated. It became the longest railway system in North America, controlling more than 50 000 km of track in Canada and the US.
September 21, 1927
Rail Disaster in Yale
Ten railway cars carrying a valuable cargo of silk went off the rails east of Yale, BC. Five of them ended up in the Fraser River.
August 22, 1950
National Rail Strike
A national rail strike caused one of the most serious transport crises in Canadian history.
May 28, 1969
Alberta Resources Railway
Alberta premier Harry Strom opened the Alberta Resources Railway, a 378 km line from Grande Prairie north to Solomon.
February 28, 1977
Via Rail Established
The federal government established Via Rail.
February 23, 1986
Train Disaster at Hinton
Twenty-three people died in a head-on collision between a CN freight train and a Via Rail passenger train at Hinton, Alta.
March 27, 1995
Rail Strike Ends
Parliament passed back-to-work legislation, forcing some 30 000 rail workers to return to their jobs. The strike had begun on March 18 and was having severe economic repercussions.
February 10, 1998
CN Buys US Railway Company
Canadian National announced plans to acquire US rail company Illinois Central Corp for $2.4 billion, making CN the 5th largest railway company in North America with 30 000 km of track.
May 13, 2014
Charges Laid in Lac-Mégantic Oil Train Explosion
Three employees of the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway were charged with criminal negligence in the 6 July 2013 oil train crash that killed 47 people in the town of Lac-Mégantic, Québec. An investigation into the disaster determined, among other causes, that the handbrakes on the train were insufficient, causing the train to slide down a sloped length of track, derail and explode in downtown Lac-Mégantic.
June 22, 2015
More Charges Laid in Lac-Mégantic Oil Train Explosion
Six former employees of the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway were charged under the Railway Safety Act and Fisheries Act for their role in the 6 July 2013 oil train crash that killed 47 people in the town of Lac-Mégantic, Québec. The charges were laid almost a year after three employees faced charges of criminal negligence in connection with the disaster.