Bienvenue a Canada – Welcome to Canada

We are beginning our train post card journey through Canada with a very important event in Canadian history. Canada officially became a country on July 1, 1867. Only 4 provinces were signatories on the original charter: Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The people who promoted confederation of the country were fully aware of the physical size of the land on which they lived. They also knew that it would take some convincing of the existing citizens (British Columbia, for example), and the placing of new settlers in the unsettled lands between Ontario and British Columbia to unite the entire landmass under one flag. Today, ten provinces and 3 territories make up the country of Canada.

This post card records the fulfilment of a promise that convinced British Columbia to join the newly formed Canada rather than the United States (much more convenient trade partners). They joined the confederation on July 20, 1871 partly because they were promised a railway line that would connect them to the rest of the country. This is a picture of Donald A. Smith driving the last spike of the Canadian Pacific Railway’s (CPR) transcontinental line linking Ontario to British Columbia. In the picture with Mr. Smith are barely visible Major A. Rogers (after whom Rogers Pass was named), William Cornelius Van Horne, the American railroad genius - the man over Smiths right shoulder; Sandford Fleming - the man with the big white beard and top hat; the kid to Smiths left peeking around his top hat is Edward Mallandaine.

This picture was taken on November 7, 1885. It just so happens (because of the mountainous topography of British Columbia) that the rails coming from the east met the rails coming from the west in British Columbia itself. In reflection of the Scottish nature of the people involved in the forming of the CPR the location is named Craigellachie (pronounced craig-alley). There is a tourist stop there to help people to understand the importance of this event. This post card is a commemoration of this great event. On the front is a 34 cent commemorative stamp of a 2-8-2 steam engine also known as a Mikado. The cancellation stamp informs us that this is, indeed, from Canada Post and it was cancelled on November 7, 1985, exactly 100 years aft the event depicted in the photograph.