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The Canadian Pacific created a nation. But it also destroyed nations in the process.

This is our third and final episode in our series about the building of the CPR and the foundation of Canada. And at the heart of this story is an unescapable question — what did it cost to create this country? And who paid that terrible price?

In the years after Confederation, Canada signed treaties with numerous Indigenous nations on the plains, promising aid in the event of a famine. But when the buffalo were slaughtered into extinction, the Canadian government was unable — or unwilling — to fulfill its treaty obligations.

At the same time, the CPR was facing financial ruin. And if it fell, Canada as an independent political entity would almost certainly cease to exist.

Famine, disease, economic collapse — all of these calamities came to a head in 1885, the single most significant year in Canadian history.

Which is when Louis Riel rose up once again.

Featured in this episode: Stephen Bown

To Learn More:

Dominion: The Railway and the Rise of Canada by Stephen Bown

The Diary of Dukesang Wong: A Voice from Gold Mountain by Dukesang Wong, David McIlwraith & Wanda Joy Hoe

The North-West Is Our Mother: The Story of Louis Riel's People, the Métis Nation by Jean Teillet

The National Dream

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The Hatchet is a podcast and newsletter dedicated to exposing power and money in Canada. We deliver important, original and fascinating journalism about how this country actually works.

Music: I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque