Coast To Coast

I have been awarded a grant from the government to spend August travelling around Alberta visiting rural historical sites. I will be making podcast episodes and YouTube videos about the sites.  As a result, with being on the road all month, I can't make new episodes of the show. So, instead I am going to release best of episodes of Canadian History Ehx.  New episodes will be back at the end of August! Support: www.patreon.com/canadaehx Donate: www.canadaehx.com E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: www.twitter.com/craigbaird Instagram: @Bairdo37 YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/canadianhistoryehx

I have been awarded a grant from the government to spend August travelling around Alberta visiting rural historical sites. I will be making podcast episodes and YouTube videos about the sites.  As a result, with being on the road all month, I can't make new episodes of the show. So, instead I am going to release best of episodes of Canadian History Ehx.  New episodes will be back at the end of August! Support: www.patreon.com/canadaehx Donate: www.canadaehx.com E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: www.twitter.com/craigbaird Instagram: @Bairdo37 YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/canadianhistoryehx

Today, I'm looking at the building of the railway at the Kicking Horse Pass. The push to finish the railroad before the money ran out led the CPR to create the steepest rail grade on the continent at this daunting pass, something that would last 25 years. It had immediate deadly results. Support: www.patreon.com/canadaehx Donate: www.canadaehx.com E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: www.twitter.com/craigbaird Instagram: @Bairdo37 Youtube: www.youtube.com/c/canadianhistoryehx

Through the 1870s, the terminus for the CPR was Esquimalt on Vancouver Island, and the pass into BC was the Yellowhead Pass. That would suddenly all change in the 1880s, with Burrard Inlet becoming the terminus & and the difficult Kicking Horse Pass being the new access to BC. Today, I look at why this happened. Support: www.patreon.com/canadaehx Donate: www.canadaehx.com E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: www.twitter.com/craigbaird Instagram: @Bairdo37 YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/canadianhistoryehx

Beginning in 1871, the Canadian government began to negotiate with the Indigenous to claim the lands from Ontario to Alberta, especially along what would be the route for the transcontinental railroad.  The treaties were unbalanced and would completely alter the lives of the Indigenous, who would see their culture change as the railroad was built on their land.  Support: www.patreon.com/canadaehx Donate: www.canadaehx.com E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: www.twitter.com/craigbaird Instagram: @Bairdo37 YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/canadianhistoryehx

With the Pacific Scandal in the past, the railroad built to Winnipeg, it was time for a new railroad syndicate to come into the spotlight. The second incarnation of the Canadian Pacific Railway would be born from seven men, but the debate in the House of Commons to approve the syndicate would be one of the most contentious in Canadian history.  Support: www.patreon.com/canadaehx Donate: www.canadaehx.com E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: www.twitter.com/craigbaird Instagram: @Bairdo37 YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/canadianhistoryehx

After being knocked out by my second dose of the COVID vaccine for two days, my podcast schedule got a bit messed up. Using this as an opportunity to reorganize and ensure that the content I make is top quality.  That is where you come in. I want your input on how to make the show better. Have a listen to the update and let me know! Regular episodes return next week.  E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: www.twitter.com/craigbaird Facebook: www.facebook.com/canadianhistoryehx Instagram: @Bairdo37

For the surveyors and workers who built the railroad through the Canadian Shield, they would deal with blasting through the hardest rock in the world, huge stretches of muskeg that swallowed tracks, loneliness, danger, extreme heat and cold, along with unrelenting mosquitoes.  Support: www.patreon.com/canadaehx Donate: www.canadaehx.com E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: www.twitter.com/craigbaird Instagram: @Bairdo37 YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/canadianhistoryehx

Just as things were beginning with the transcontinental railway, a scandal would erupt in Canada. The Pacific Scandal would bring down the government, force the Prime Minister to resign, and delay construction by over five years.  It all started with a hopeful railway tycoon and a lot of money. Support: www.patreon.com/canadaehx Donate: www.canadaehx.com E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: www.twitter.com/craigbaird Instagram: @bairdo37 YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/canadianhistoryehx

One of the catalysts for the construction of the Trans-Continental Railroad was the admission of British Columbia into Confederation. Of course, things did not go smoothly, deadlines were missed and it nearly ended with BC leaving the country.  Support: www.patreon.com/canadaehx Donate: www.canadaehx.com E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: www.twitter.com/craigbaird Instagram: @Bairdo37 YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/canadianhistoryehx