The Canadian Pacific Railway (1885). The Day Canada Became One

On November 7, 1885, in the cold mountain pass of Craigellachie, deep in the Canadian Rockies, a crowd gathered around a single stretch of track. With one final swing of the hammer, builder Donald Smith drove in the last spike — a small golden nail that symbolized the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway.From that moment, Canada ceased to be a scattered collection of distant colonies. It became a single nation, united from ocean to ocean.

A Dream Across a Continent

When the Dominion of Canada was formed in 1867, the young country was fragile and divided. The western province of British Columbia agreed to join the Confederation only on one condition: a railway must be built to connect it with the rest of Canada — from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

The idea seemed almost impossible. The land was vast, wild, and untamed. Engineers faced swamps, prairies, frozen forests, and the massive wall of the Rocky Mountains. The cost, danger, and distance were beyond imagination.

Building the Impossible

Construction began in 1881 under the leadership of William Van Horne, a determined and visionary manager who believed that “the railway must be built, no matter what.”Thousands of workers from around the world joined the effort — Canadians, Scots, Irish, Ukrainians, and over 15,000 Chinese laborers, hired for the most perilous mountain work.

They blasted tunnels through granite, bridged canyons, and laid rails through forests and snowstorms. Many never returned home — especially the Chinese workers, who faced brutal conditions, disease, and starvation. Yet the line kept advancing — mile by mile, rail by rail.

The Day the Continent United

At last, on November 7, 1885, after four years of relentless work, the two ends of the railway met in Craigellachie, British Columbia. In front of the workers, engineers, and journalists, Donald Smith drove the symbolic golden spike into the final rail.

Trains could now travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific without interruption.For Canada, it was more than an engineering triumph — it was the birth of a nation. The railway bound the provinces together, opened the West to settlement, enabled trade, and forged a shared identity across the continent.

A Legacy That Endures

The Canadian Pacific Railway became the lifeline of the new country. It fueled immigration, built cities like Winnipeg, Calgary, and Vancouver, and gave Canada its economic backbone. It was not just a railroad — it was a promise kept.

Today, more than a century later, the rails still cross the same mountains and plains. At Craigellachie stands a monument marking the site of the last spike — a symbol of unity, perseverance, and the courage to build a nation from wilderness.