The West, the railway, and a growing country

Bilal is thirty-three. He came from Pakistan and works as an accountant in Toronto. This summer, he and his daughter, who is nine, take a long train trip to visit his cousin in the West. Outside the window, the fields go on and on. His daughter asks, Papa, who built the railway across Canada? And why?

So here's the question. What happened in the West after Confederation, and what did the great railway stand for? Remember, this is a free, independent course. It is not a government course.

The official study guide, Discover Canada, tells this story in its chapter called Canada's History. In eighteen sixty-nine, Canada took over the huge northwest from the Hudson's Bay Company. The twelve thousand Métis of the Red River were not asked. The Métis are a people of mixed Aboriginal and European ancestry. Their leader, Louis Riel, led an armed uprising and took Fort Garry.

In eighteen seventy, Manitoba became a province. In eighteen eighty-five, a second rebellion began in what is now Saskatchewan. Gabriel Dumont was the Métis military leader. The rebellion led to Riel's trial and execution for high treason. The guide says many people today see Riel as a hero, a defender of Métis rights, and the father of Manitoba.

After the first uprising, Prime Minister Macdonald created the North West Mounted Police. That was in eighteen seventy-three, to keep order in the West. It later became the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Today the RCMP is Canada's national police force.

Now, Bilal's question. British Columbia joined Canada in eighteen seventy-one, after Ottawa promised to build a railway to the West Coast. The Canadian Pacific Railway was built by European and Chinese workers. On November seventh, eighteen eighty-five, Donald Smith, Lord Strathcona, drove the last spike. The guide says the finished railway was a strong symbol of unity, a sign of one country joined together.

But the guide also names a wrong. After the railway, Chinese newcomers faced discrimination. One example was the Head Tax, an entry fee based on race. In two thousand six, Canada apologized for the Head Tax.

Then settlers came to the West in waves. In the eighteen nineties and early nineteen hundreds, one million British and one million American immigrants arrived. Before nineteen fourteen, one hundred and seventy thousand Ukrainians and one hundred and fifteen thousand Poles settled in the West. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the first French-Canadian Prime Minister since Confederation, encouraged newcomers to settle there.

Let's make it stick. Picture the last spike as one nail holding two long boards together, one from the east and one from the west. One nail, one country. That's the symbol of unity. And for the two Métis leaders, think of a head and a hand. Riel was the leader. Dumont led the fighters.

Let's change one fact. What if the question asks what the railway symbolized, not who built it? Then the answer is unity. Who built it? European and Chinese workers. When was the last spike? November seventh, eighteen eighty-five. Three questions, three different answers. So read each question slowly.

The mistake people make is telling only half of Riel's story. The guide gives both halves. He led armed uprisings, and he was executed for high treason. And many people see him as a hero, a defender of Métis rights, and the father of Manitoba.

Here's the one thing to remember. The Canadian Pacific Railway, finished in eighteen eighty-five, was a symbol of unity. British Columbia joined Canada because a railway was promised.

This week, read the part of the Canada's History chapter about the West and the railway. Then explain to someone, in your own words, why the railway mattered. Next time, the First World War, and how women won the vote.