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The Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) was a historic
Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
transcontinental railway A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous railroad trackage, that crosses a continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single ...
. At its 1923 merger into the
Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...
, the CNoR owned a main line between
Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...
and
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
via
Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
,
Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
, and
Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
.


Manitoba beginnings

The network had its start in the independent
branchline A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An indust ...
s that were being constructed in
Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
in the 1880s and 1890s as a response to the
monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...
exercised by
Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...
(CPR). Many such lines were built with the sponsorship of the provincial government, which sought to subsidize local competition to the federally subsidized CPR; however, significant competition was also provided by the encroaching
Northern Pacific Railway The Northern Pacific Railway was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. It was approved by Congress in 1864 and given nearly of land grants, whic ...
(NPR) from the south. Two branchline contractors,
Sir William Mackenzie Sir William Mackenzie (October 17, 1849 – December 5, 1923) was a Canadian railway contractor and entrepreneur. Born near Peterborough, Canada West (now Ontario), Mackenzie became a teacher and politician before entering business as the ow ...
and Sir Donald Mann, took control of the bankrupt
Lake Manitoba Railway and Canal Company Lake Manitoba Railway and Canal Company (LMR) was a historic rail line in Manitoba, Canada, between Gladstone in the south and Winnipegosis to its north. History Proposal In 1889, the Lake Manitoba Railway and Canal Company (LMR) received a feder ...
in January, 1896. The partners expanded their enterprise, in 1897, by building further north into Manitoba's Interlake district as well as east and west of
Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
. They also began building and buying lines south to connect with the U.S. border at
Pembina, North Dakota Pembina () is a city in Pembina County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 512 at the 2020 census. Pembina is located south of the Canada–US border. Interstate 29 passes on the west side of Pembina, leading north to the Canada ...
, and east to
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
.


Connecting the Prairies to the Lakehead

The Canadian Northern Railway was established, on January 13, 1899 and all railway companies owned by Mackenzie and Mann (primarily in Manitoba) were consolidated into the new entity. CNoR's first step toward competing directly with CPR came at the start of the 20th century with the decision to build a line linking the Prairie Provinces with
Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...
at the harbour in Port Arthur- Fort William (modern
Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...
, Ontario), which would permit the shipping of western grain to European markets as well as the transport of eastern Canadian goods to the West. This line incorporated an existing CNoR line to Lake of the Woods and two local Ontario railways, the
Port Arthur, Duluth and Western Railway The Port Arthur, Duluth and Western Railway (PADW) was a Canadian railway that operated in Northwestern Ontario. The PADW was built in 1889 by investors interested in extracting the mineral and timber wealth of the Whitefish River Valley, Silver ...
and the
Ontario and Rainy River Railway The Ontario and Rainy River Railway was a railway that existed briefly in the late 19th century. The company had been incorporated in 1886 to build a railway from Port Arthur, Ontario to the Rainy River. On the 4th of May 1899, the chief promoters ...
, whose charters Mackenzie and Mann had acquired in 1897. To reach Port Arthur, which became the lake terminus of the CNoR, the line extended south of Lake of the Woods into northern
Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
before heading northeast through
Rainy River District Rainy River District is a district and census division in Northwestern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1885. It is the only division in Ontario that lies completely in the Central Time Zone, except for the townshi ...
to the head of navigation on the
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
. The Winnipeg-Port Arthur line was completed on December 30, 1901, with the last spike being driven just east of Atikokan station by Ontario's Commissioner of Crown Lands,
Elihu Davis Elihu James Davis (December 2, 1851 – June 18, 1936) was an Ontario businessman and political figure. He represented York North in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Liberal member from 1888 to 1904.https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/ ...
. Meanwhile, Mackenzie and Mann expanded their prairie branch line operations to feed the connection to Port Arthur. From a series of disconnected railways and charters, the network became 1,200 miles of profitable and continuous track that covered most of the prairies by 1902.


Northern expansion

After receiving grants from the Province of Manitoba and the Dominion of Canada in the 1890s, Mackenzie and Mann began building lines further north in Manitoba, with the intention of eventually reaching
Hudson Bay Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...
. Throughout the 1890s, they reached Swan River, and continued building north between the
Porcupine Hills The Porcupine Hills refer to various groups of hills and uplands located in the prairie provinces of Canada, specifically the provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba. They are part of the Manitoba Escarpment, which was the shoreline of the anci ...
to the west and
Lake Winnipegosis Lake Winnipegosis is a large (5,370 km2) lake in central North America, in Manitoba, Canada, some 300 km northwest of Winnipeg. It is Canada's eleventh-largest lake. An alternate spelling, once common but now rare, is Lake Winipigoos or ...
to the east. In 1900, Mackenzie and Mann directed this northern line west into the
Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...
(later
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
), where it eventually terminated at E.R. Wood (later
Erwood Erwood ( cy, Erwyd) is a village and community lying beside the River Wye, on the A470 road some 6 miles south-east of Builth Wells in Powys, Wales. The population of the community taken at the 2011 census was 429. It is in the historic county ...
). This northwestern line mainly carried
lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...
and was extended to Melfort between 1903 and 1905. In 1907, the Canadian Parliament pressured Mackenzie and Mann to continue building more rail towards Hudson Bay. In that year, they created a junction on the Erwood to Melfort line near the mouth of the Etoimami river, where Fort Red Deer River existed, and a line was extended north to
The Pas The Pas ( ; french: Le Pas) is a town in Manitoba, Canada, located at the confluence of the Pasquia River and the Saskatchewan River and surrounded by the unorganized Northern Region of the province. It is approximately northwest of the provinc ...
. By 1910, the settlement at this junction was renamed
Hudson Bay Junction Hudson Bay is a town in east-central Saskatchewan, Canada, west of the Manitoba border. The town is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Hudson Bay No. 394. History In 1757, a Hudson Bay Company fur trading post was established in the H ...
, and the line was completed between the junction and The Pas. The long section of rail between The Pas and
Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...
was never completed by CNoR. However, after CNoR was acquired by CN, the line was completed in 1929. ''(see Hudson Bay Railway)''


Transcontinental

Once elected in 1896, Prime Minister
Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier, ( ; ; November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadian prime minis ...
was eager for a second transcontinental. However, an expansion of the non-
CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore sponta ...
railways west of
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
would be a mammoth questionable gamble for the operators. Adding an equally costly route to supplement the existing uneconomical CP track through Ontario seemed more ludicrous. At the time, the CNoR planned to advance no further west than Edmonton. In 1902, the GTR held talks with Laurier and agreed to build a transcontinental under the auspices of the GTPR for the western portion, with the eastern portion built by the government-owned NTR. The CNoR, which had a charter to build westward to the mouth of the
Skeena River The Skeena River is the second-longest river entirely within British Columbia, Canada (after the Fraser River). Since ancient times, the Skeena has been an important transportation artery, particularly for the Tsimshian and the Gitxsan—whose n ...
was alarmed, but in no hurry, because it believed the GTPR would choose one of the more northerly passes to cross the
Canadian Rockies The Canadian Rockies (french: Rocheuses canadiennes) or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost part ...
, leaving the
Yellowhead Pass The Yellowhead Pass is a mountain pass across the Continental Divide of the Americas in the Canadian Rockies. It is located on the provincial boundary between the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, and lies within Jasper ...
for the CNoR. Despite promptings, the GTP was unwilling to collaborate with the CNoR in any joint construction.


Western Canada expansion

In 1905, CNoR reached
Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
, just as part of the old NWT had changed into the province of
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
. The rail-line crossed the North Saskatchewan River at Fort Saskatchewan, coming into Edmonton from the northeast, following the present-day LRT track. After a pause, the CNoR began construction west from Edmonton, and by summer 1907 had gone as far as Stony Plain. A stock market crash that year ceased construction. When construction was resumed in 1910, it was found that extending the Stony Plain line meant frequent crossings over the Grand Trunk Pacific line which had been laid in the meantime. Instead CNoR decided to leave Edmonton through St. Albert. (A bump on 124th Street near Stony Plain Road is remnant of the constructed but abandoned road-bed.) CNoR's terminus on the coast changed over time. Rather than competing with the GTPR in having a terminal at the mouth of the Skeena, the CNoR accepted BC government subsidies to switch to the
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
area. When the GTPR selected the Yellowhead route, CNoR protests created some delay but could not overturn he decision. In 1911, CNoR workers started on a
townsite A townsite is a legal subdivision of land for the development of a town or community. In the historical development of the United States, Canada, and other former British colonial nations, the filing of a townsite plat (United States) or plan (Ca ...
named
Port Mann Port Mann townsite was created in 1911 in the municipality of Surrey, British Columbia. The new town was to adjoin the new railway yard and roundhouse forming the terminus of the new trans-national rail-line operated by Canadian Northern Railway. ...
on the Fraser River. This townsite would accommodate new car shops, and from there, rail-lines would extend to Vancouver and the Fraser River delta. CNoR's initial expansion in the 1890s and 1900s had been relatively frugal, largely by acquiring bankrupt companies or finishing failed construction projects. By the 1910s, significant expenses were accumulating. The CNoR started construction west of Edmonton in 1910, fully two years later than GTPR. The construction through the Rockies, which was expensive, largely paralleled the GTPR line of 1911, creating about 100 miles of duplication. However, the largest costs were from building on "the wrong side" of the
Thompson Thompson may refer to: People * Thompson (surname) * Thompson M. Scoon (1888–1953), New York politician Places Australia *Thompson Beach, South Australia, a locality Bulgaria * Thompson, Bulgaria, a village in Sofia Province Canada * ...
and
Fraser Fraser may refer to: Places Antarctica * Fraser Point, South Orkney Islands Australia * Fraser, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb in the Canberra district of Belconnen * Division of Fraser (Australian Capital Territory), a former federal e ...
rivers in the
Coast Mountains The Coast Mountains (french: La chaîne Côtière) are a major mountain range in the Pacific Coast Ranges of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the Coast of British Columbia ...
of British Columbia. CPR already had trackage on the desirable banks, forcing the CNoR to blast tunnels and ledges out of these canyons. The most infamous construction folly on the CNoR in British Columbia happened in 1913, when blasting for a passage for the railway at Hells Gate triggered an enormous
landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...
which partially blocked the narrow swift-flowing Fraser River. The resulting damage to Pacific
salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...
runs took decades to reverse by the governmental construction of fishways.


Eastern Canada expansion

Mackenzie and Mann began their first significant expansion outside of the prairies with the purchase of
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
steamships, the Quebec and Lake St-John Railway (1906) into northern
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
's Saguenay region and the acquisition of branchlines in southwestern
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...
(the
Halifax and Southwestern Railway The Halifax and South Western Railway was a historic Canadian railway operating in the province of Nova Scotia. The legal name of this railway was the Halifax & South Western Railway, as is defined in various Acts of the Nova Scotia Legislature ...
) and western
Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-Breton, formerly '; gd, Ceap Breatainn or '; mic, Unamaꞌki) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18. ...
(the
Inverness and Richmond Railway The Inverness and Richmond Railway was a railway that operated on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia from 1901 to the 1980s. It is now a rail trail for snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, and human-powered transport called the Celtic Shores Coastal ...
). Other acquisitions were in
southern Ontario Southern Ontario is a primary region of the province of Ontario, Canada, the other primary region being Northern Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada. The exact northern boundary of Southern Ontario is disp ...
and a connecting line was built from
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
to
Parry Sound Parry Sound is a sound or bay of Georgian Bay on Lake Huron, in Ontario, Canada. It is highly irregularly shaped with many deep bays and islands. Killbear Provincial Park is located on the large peninsula that separates the sound from Georgian B ...
. In 1908, a line, which under later CN ownership was known as the
Alderdale Subdivision The Canadian National Railway Alderdale Subdivision was a railway line in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It originally opened in 1915 as a part of the Canadian Northern Railway's transcontinental mainline. It connected Brent in the east with Cap ...
, was built east from a connection at
Capreol, Ontario Capreol ( ) is a community in the Ontario city of Greater Sudbury. Situated on the Vermilion River (35 mins north of the downtown core), Capreol is the city's northernmost populated area. From 1918 to 2000, Capreol existed as an independent tow ...
, on the Toronto – Parry Sound line to
Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
and on to
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
. In 1910 a direct Toronto–Montreal line was built. In 1911, federal funding enabled construction of the line Montreal – Ottawa – Capreol – Port Arthur. In 1912, with GTR and CPR holding the ideal southern routes around
Mount Royal Mount Royal (french: link=no, Mont Royal, ) is a large intrusive rock hill or small mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately west of Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The best-known hypothesis for the origin of the name Montreal is the hi ...
to downtown Montreal, CNoR started building a double-tracked mainline north by excavating the
Mount Royal Tunnel The Mount Royal Tunnel (french: tunnel sous le mont Royal, tunnel du mont Royal) is a railway tunnel in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The tunnel is the third longest in Canada, after the Mount Macdonald Tunnel and the Connaught Tunnel, and connects t ...
.


Steamships

In 1910 the company entered the trans-Atlantic liner business with the founding of the Canadian Northern Steamship Company. The subsidiary acquired two liners from the Egyptian Mail Steamship Company and operated them under its Royal Line brand. The pair of ships were renamed upon purchase—''Cairo'' became and ''Heliopolis'' became ''Royal George''—and refitted for travel on the North Atlantic. In Royal Line service, ''Royal Edward'' sailed from
Avonmouth Avonmouth is a port and outer suburb of Bristol, England, facing two rivers: the reinforced north bank of the final stage of the Avon which rises at sources in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset; and the eastern shore of the Severn Estuar ...
to
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
in the summer months and to Halifax in the winter months. At the outbreak of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, ''Royal Edward'' and ''Royal George'' were both requisitioned for use as troopships. On August 13, 1915, the German submarine '' UB-14'' sank ''Royal Edward'', which was transporting troops from
Avonmouth Avonmouth is a port and outer suburb of Bristol, England, facing two rivers: the reinforced north bank of the final stage of the Avon which rises at sources in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset; and the eastern shore of the Severn Estuar ...
to
Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...
. ''Royal George'' was sold to
Cunard Cunard () is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its three ships have been registered in Hamilton, Berm ...
in 1916, became an emigrant ship in
Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...
by 1920 and scrapped in 1922 in
Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...
. Plans for a trans-Pacific service were mothballed.


Resort development

In 1914, to develop a resort on Grand Beach, CNoR bought a homestead north of Winnipeg on the shores of Lake Winnipeg,


Financial trouble and nationalization

By 1914, with the company's financial predicament threatening the solvency of its major financier, the
Bank of Commerce Bank of Commerce, commonly known as BankCom, is a universal bank in the Philippines and is licensed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). Bank of Commerce is an affiliate of San Miguel Corporation (SMC). Bank of Commerce has a network of 1 ...
, the CNoR appealed for government help. The last spike of the CNoR transcontinental railway was driven January 23, 1915, at Basque, British Columbia, with Montreal-Vancouver freight and passenger services commencing six months later, and providing a rail network in Nova Scotia, Southern Ontario, Minnesota, and on
Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...
. Between 1915 and 1918, CNoR tried desperately to increase profits, but CPR garnered the majority of wartime traffic. The company was also saddled with ongoing construction costs associated with the
Mount Royal Tunnel The Mount Royal Tunnel (french: tunnel sous le mont Royal, tunnel du mont Royal) is a railway tunnel in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The tunnel is the third longest in Canada, after the Mount Macdonald Tunnel and the Connaught Tunnel, and connects t ...
project. CNoR was heavily indebted to banks and governments, and its profitable branchlines in the prairie provinces — "Canada's breadbasket" — would not generate enough revenue to cover construction costs in other areas. Unable to meet its debts, the company became desperate for financial aid. In 1917, the federal government effectively took control of the company. As a condition for further funding, the government became the majority shareholder. On September 6, 1918, the directors, Mackenzie and Mann, resigned, replaced by a government-appointed board. Subsequently, CNoR executive
David Blyth Hanna David Blyth Hanna (December 20, 1858, Thornliebank, Scotland – December 1, 1938, Toronto) was a railway executive with the Canadian Northern Railway and the Canadian National Railways. Born in Thornliebank, Scotland, he emigrated to Canada ...
and his team managed not only CNoR operations but also the federally owned
Canadian Government Railways Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
(CGR). On December 20, 1918, a
Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
order directed CNoR and CGR to be managed under the name
Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...
(CNR) as a means to simplify funding and operations, but CNoR and CGR would not formally merge and cease corporate existence until January 20, 1923, the date Parliament passed the final act to incorporate CNR. Significant portions of the old CNoR system survive under CN (as the CNR has been known since 1960); for example: * the
Mount Royal Tunnel The Mount Royal Tunnel (french: tunnel sous le mont Royal, tunnel du mont Royal) is a railway tunnel in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The tunnel is the third longest in Canada, after the Mount Macdonald Tunnel and the Connaught Tunnel, and connects t ...
and suburban line to
Deux-Montagnes, Quebec Deux-Montagnes is a suburban municipality in southwestern Quebec, Canada on the north shore of the Rivière des Mille Îles where it flows out of Lake of Two Mountains (''Lac des Deux Montagnes''). It is part of the Deux-Montagnes Regional Cou ...
* the line from
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
(
Pointe-aux-Trembles Pointe-aux-Trembles was a municipality, founded in 1674, that was annexed by Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1982. This was the last city to be merged into Montreal until the 2002 municipal reorganization. On January 1, 2002 this neighbourhood a ...
) northeast to
Saguenay, Quebec Saguenay ( , , ) is a city in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada, on the Saguenay River, about north of Quebec City by overland route. It is about upriver and northwest of Tadoussac, located at the confluence with the St. ...
* the CN main line north and west from
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
to Longlac, Ontario, about 900 km east of
Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
* the CN main line from the
Yellowhead Pass The Yellowhead Pass is a mountain pass across the Continental Divide of the Americas in the Canadian Rockies. It is located on the provincial boundary between the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, and lies within Jasper ...
southwest to
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
. The majority of CN's former CNoR branchline network across Canada has either been abandoned or sold to shortline operators. An important U.S. subsidiary of CNoR, the
Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific Railway The Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific Railway is a subsidiary railroad of Canadian National Railway (CN) operating in northern Minnesota, United States. A CN system-wide rebranding beginning in 1995 has seen the DWP logo and name largely replaced by ...
, forms part of a key CN connection between
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
and
Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
.


See also

*
Bay of Quinte Railway The Bay of Quinte Railway was a short-line railway in eastern Ontario, Canada. It was formed as the Napanee, Tamworth and Quebec Railway (NT&QR), chartered in 1878 by Edward Rathbun and Alexander Campbell, with plans to run from Napanee throug ...
(acquired 1910) *
Canadian Northern Pacific Railway The Canadian Northern Pacific Railway (CNoPR) was an historic Canadian railway with a main line running between the Alberta–British Columbia border and Vancouver, British Columbia. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Canadian Northern Railw ...
(subsidiary, incorporated 1910) *
Central Ontario Railway The Central Ontario Railway (COR) was a former railway that ran north from Trenton, Ontario to service a number of towns, mines, and sawmills. Originally formed as the Prince Edward County Railway in 1879, it ran between Picton and Trenton, wher ...
(acquired 1911 as part of Irondale, Bancroft & Ottawa Railway) *
Halifax and Southwestern Railway The Halifax and South Western Railway was a historic Canadian railway operating in the province of Nova Scotia. The legal name of this railway was the Halifax & South Western Railway, as is defined in various Acts of the Nova Scotia Legislature ...
(acquired post-1906) *
Inverness and Richmond Railway The Inverness and Richmond Railway was a railway that operated on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia from 1901 to the 1980s. It is now a rail trail for snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, and human-powered transport called the Celtic Shores Coastal ...
(acquired late 1890s) *
Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario The Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario, a rail museum in a former CNoR station, stands on the abandoned right-of-way of a Canadian Northern Railway line which once led southwest toward Napanee. Established 1985 as the Smiths Falls Railway Museum, ...
(former CNoR
Smiths Falls Smiths Falls is a town in Eastern Ontario, Canada, southwest of Ottawa. As of the 2021 census it has a population of 9,254. It is in the Census division for Lanark County, but is separated from the county. The Rideau Canal waterway passes thr ...
station) * Qu'Appelle, Long Lake and Saskatchewan Railroad and Steamboat Company (acquired July 1906) *
History of rail transport in Canada : ''This article is part of the history of rail transport by country series.'' The history of rail transport in Canada began in the early 19th century. The Canadian railway system saw several expansion "booms" throughout history, as well as a ma ...
*
List of defunct Canadian railways Most transportation historians date the history of Canada's railways as beginning on February 25, 1832, with the incorporation of British North America's first steam-powered railway, the Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad. This line opened for tr ...


Footnotes


References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Canadian Northern Railway Canadian National Railway subsidiaries 1899 establishments in Manitoba Defunct British Columbia railways Defunct Alberta railways Defunct Saskatchewan railways Defunct Manitoba railways Defunct Ontario railways Defunct Quebec railways Defunct Nova Scotia railways Predecessors of the Canadian National Railway Former Class I railroads in the United States Defunct Minnesota railroads Railway companies established in 1899 Railway companies disestablished in 1923 1923 disestablishments in Manitoba