# Canonical recap data for Canadian Pacific Railway Completed (1885)
# Source: https://recap.at/1885/canadian-pacific-railway
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: canadian-pacific-railway
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1885/canadian-pacific-railway"
title: Canadian Pacific Railway Completed
aliases:
- CPR
- Canadian Pacific
- Last Spike
- Craigellachie Spike
subtitle: Canadian Pacific Railway Completed
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1885-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1885
decade: 1880
country:
name: Canada
slug: canada
summaryShort: The Canadian Pacific Railway, 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 Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited, known until 2023 as Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in
summaryLong: The Canadian Pacific Railway, 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 Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited, known until 2023 as Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001.
lede: On November 7, 1885, the final spike of the Canadian Pacific Railway was driven near Craigellachie, British Columbia, completing the first transcontinental railroad to cross Canada. The 4,038-mile line connected Montreal to Vancouver., knitting together a sprawling nation and fulfilling a constitutional promise made at Confederation. The CPR became the backbone of Canadian commerce and settlement for over a century.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/Canadian_Pacific_System_Railmap.PNG/1280px-Canadian_Pacific_System_Railmap.PNG"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Canadian Pacific Railway"
importance: 50
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Total length
  value: approximately 4,038 miles (6,497 kilometers)
- label: Final spike location
  value: Craigellachie, British Columbia
- label: Final spike driven
  value: November 7, 1885
- label: Construction cost
  value: approximately $145–160 million
- label: Years to construct
  value: approximately 4 years and 6 months (construction from May 1881–November 1885)
- label: Chief engineer
  value: William Cornelius Van Horne
- label: Company incorporation
  value: February 16, 1881
- label: Eastern terminus
  value: Montreal, Quebec
- label: Western terminus
  value: Vancouver, British Columbia.
timeline:
- date: 1881-02-16
  title: Canadian Pacific Railway incorporated
  description: The company receives federal incorporation as a private enterprise with a mandate to build a transcontinental railroad.
- date: 1881-05-15
  title: Construction begins
  description: Major construction efforts accelerate across multiple sections; William Cornelius Van Horne appointed as Chief Engineer to oversee operations.
- date: 1882-06-01
  title: Eastern section construction accelerates
  description: The company begins major construction eastward from Winnipeg, Manitoba, pushing through challenging terrain.
- date: 1883-06-01
  title: Rails reach the Rocky Mountains
  description: Construction crews penetrate the western mountain ranges, tackling steep grades and tunneling through solid rock.
- date: 1884-11-01
  title: Final gap narrowing
  description: Crews working from east and west near completion; the main engineering challenges in the mountains overcome.
- date: 1885-11-07
  title: Last spike driven
  description: Vice-President Donald A. Smith drove the final spike at Craigellachie, completing the first transcontinental railroad across Canada.
- date: 1886-07-01
  title: First passenger service
  description: The CPR launches regular transcontinental passenger service from Montreal to Vancouver, British Columbia.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Pacific_Railway"
  title: Canadian Pacific Railway
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: The CPR's completion transformed Canada from a collection of isolated provinces into an integrated economic and political entity. It enabled westward settlement, resource extraction, and trade that would define the nation's trajectory well into the 20th century. The railway's construction and operation also established templates for corporate power and labor relations in Canada that persisted for generations.
categories:
- launch
metaDescription: The Canadian Pacific Railway's completion in 1885 linked Canada coast to coast and unified a young nation.
wikidataQid: Q46974
comparisonThenNow:
- metric: Track length
  thenValue: 4,038 miles
  thenYear: 1885
  nowValue: 12,800+ miles
  nowYear: 2024
  note: CPR expanded significantly through acquisitions and extensions into the 20th century
- metric: Primary cargo
  thenValue: Wheat, timber, furs
  thenYear: 1885
  nowValue: Containers, coal, automotive
  nowYear: 2024
  note: Shift from raw materials to finished goods and intermodal transport
- metric: Geographic reach
  thenValue: Montreal to Vancouver
  thenYear: 1885
  nowValue: Canada to U.S. Gulf Coast
  nowYear: 2024
  note: Post-2023 merger with Kansas City Southern extended U.S. operations
- metric: Employees
  thenValue: Approximately 5,000
  thenYear: 1885
  nowValue: 20,000+
  nowYear: 2024
consequences:
- title: Settlement of Western Canada
  year: 1885
  description: The completed CPR enabled rapid European settlement across the prairies and British Columbia, fundamentally transforming Indigenous territories and establishing agricultural dominance
- title: Transcontinental Trade Routes
  year: 1890
  description: CPR became crucial infrastructure for exporting Canadian wheat to British markets, reshaping global grain commerce and establishing Canada as a major agricultural exporter
- title: Railway Labor Disputes
  year: 1901
  description: CPR workers launched major strikes over wages and working conditions, establishing the railway as a flashpoint for labor organizing in Canada throughout the 20th century
- title: Urban Development
  year: 1920
  description: CPR's landholdings and station placements in cities like Calgary, Winnipeg, and Vancouver shaped urban planning and real estate development for decades
- title: Merger with Kansas City Southern
  year: 2023
  description: Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited formed, creating a 20,000-mile network spanning North America and making CPR the first Canadian company to own transcontinental U.S. rail operations
culturalContext:
topMusic:
- title: The CPR Song
  artist: Traditional Canadian folk
  year: 1885
  note: Multiple folk songs emerged celebrating the railway's completion across diverse Canadian communities
  referenceCard:
  status: not_found
  checkedAt: "2026-05-27T10:30:10.059Z"
topFilms: []
topTVShows: []
zeitgeistNote: In 1885, the CPR's completion dominated Canadian discourse as proof of national ambition and technological mastery. The railway symbolized Canada's emergence from colonial dependency, connecting a fragile dominion across 3,000 miles of wilderness. Newspapers celebrated engineer William Cornelius Van Horne's achievement while Indigenous peoples faced dispossession. The railway was simultaneously nation-builder and instrument of colonization.
relatedQueries:
- Canadian Pacific Railway history construction 1881-1885
- CPR transcontinental railway impact western Canada settlement
- William Cornelius Van Horne Canadian Pacific Railway
- CPR Kicking Horse Pass mountain engineering
- Canadian Pacific Railway Indigenous displacement impact
- CPR railway labor strikes history Canada
- Canadian Pacific Kansas City merger 2023
gallery:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260505162037/https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/Canadian_Pacific_System_Railmap.PNG/1280px-Canadian_Pacific_System_Railmap.PNG"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/Canadian_Pacific_System_Railmap.PNG/800px-Canadian_Pacific_System_Railmap.PNG"
  caption: Canadian Pacific Railway
  credit: Wikipedia · "Canadian Pacific Railway"
  width: 330
  height: 328
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Canadian_Pacific_train_engine.webp/1280px-Canadian_Pacific_train_engine.webp.png"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Canadian_Pacific_train_engine.webp/800px-Canadian_Pacific_train_engine.webp.png"
  caption: Canadian Pacific train engine
  credit: Wikideas1
  width: 3760
  height: 3000
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/1885_Canadian_Pacific_Railway_is_completed.jpg/1280px-1885_Canadian_Pacific_Railway_is_completed.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/1885_Canadian_Pacific_Railway_is_completed.jpg/800px-1885_Canadian_Pacific_Railway_is_completed.jpg"
  caption: 1885 Canadian Pacific Railway is completed
  credit: Seelkee
  width: 1737
  height: 1106
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Canadian_Pacific_Railway_-8010.jpg/1280px-Canadian_Pacific_Railway_-8010.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Canadian_Pacific_Railway_-8010.jpg/800px-Canadian_Pacific_Railway_-8010.jpg"
  caption: Canadian Pacific Railway -8010
  credit: Can't Undo at English Wikipedia
  width: 672
  height: 453
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260531160756/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Pacific_Railway"
  capturedAt: 2026-05-31
  label: Canadian Pacific Railway
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Pacific_Railway"
taxonomy:
domain: economic
eventTypes:
- ipo
canonicalClasses:
- creation
- transformation
impactRadius: national
velocity: gradual
predictability: scheduled
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: birth
