Coast To Coast

I've launched a new podcast called Canada: A Yearly Journey, which will look at every year in Canada's history, beginning with 1867.The first episode dropped last week, with 1868 coming Thursday.Episodes release every Thursday. Find it on all your podcast platforms.

On Nov 7, 1885 at 9:22 a.m., the official last spike was hammered in at a spot in the Eagle Pass by Sir Donald Smith. With that, the 14 year odyssey of the construction of the transcontinental railway had come to an end. What is the story behind that famous photo though? What happened before, and what happened after? Today, the last episode of Coast to Coast Support: www.patreon.com/canadaehx Donate: www.canadaehx.com E-mail: craig@canadaehx.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/craigbaird Instagram: @Bairdo37 YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/canadianhistoryehx

From extreme loneliness, to the ever present danger of injury or death, the lives of workers was not an easy one. Alcohol was always around, medical care was barebones at best and living conditions were filthy and cramped.  It was not an easy life but for many, it was the means towards a better life. Support: www.patreon.com/canadaehx Donate: www.canadaehx.com E-mail: craig@canadaehx.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/craigbaird Instagram: @Bairdo37 YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/canadianhistoryehx

Today on Coast to Coast, I am looking at the Canadian Pacific Railway's building through the Prairies, from Winnipeg to Calgary, a distance of 1,300 km. While the Canadian Prairies section was the same length as the British Columbian and Canadian Shield sections combined, building was quick and efficient through the flat landscape, taking just over a year. Support: www.patreon.com/canadaehx Donate: www.canadaehx.com E-mail: craig@canadaehx.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/craigbaird Instagram: @Bairdo37 YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/canadianhistoryehx

Today on Coast to Coast, I am taking a jump forward to look at the grand railway hotels built, primarily, by the Canadian Pacific Railway.  While there are many grand railway hotels across Canada, today I am only covering seven of them, from British Columbia to Quebec City. They have served as places to stay for presidents, prime ministers and Royalty and even played a role in creating the NHL itself. Support: www.patreon.com/canadaehx Donate: www.canadaehx.com E-mail: craig@canadaehx.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/craigbaird Instagram: @Bairdo37 YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/canadianhistoryehx

In the Prairies, it was possible to build hundreds of kilometres of the railroad in one year. In British Columbia, that same length of track would take over five years. From avalanches, the need to build bridges over gorges and blasting through granite mountains, the construction of the CPR through British Columbia was no small matter, nor a quick process. Support: www.patreon.com/canadaehx Donate: www.canadaehx.com E-mail: craig@canadaehx.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/craigbaird Instagram: @Bairdo37 YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/canadianhistoryehx

Chinese immigrants were hired in mass numbers, with some estimates saying as high as 17,000, to build the hardest parts of the railroad through British Columbia. Of those hired, its estimated 25% would die. Their role in completing the railway was immense, but they were ignored and pushed to the side of history for a century. Today, I look at the Chinese workers of the CPR. Support: www.patreon.com/canadaehx Donate: www.canadaehx.com E-mail: craig@canadaehx.com 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: craig@canadaehx.com 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: craig@canadaehx.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/craigbaird Instagram: @Bairdo37 YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/canadianhistoryehx

On my other podcast From John To Justin, I am releasing 36 straight days of podcast episodes about every election in Canadian history in honour of the new election. For the subsequent episodes in that series, make sure to subscribe to From John to Justin.  The first three elections in Canadian history were interesting affairs. Corruption, intimidation and shady tactics were par for the course as Canada found its footing as a new country. E-mail: craig@canadaehx.com

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: craig@canadaehx.com 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: craig@canadaehx.com 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: craig@canadaehx.com 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: craig@canadaehx.com 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: craig@canadaehx.com 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: craig@canadaehx.com 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: craig@canadaehx.com 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: craig@canadaehx.com 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: craig@canadaehx.com 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: craig@canadaehx.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/craigbaird Instagram: @Bairdo37 YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/canadianhistoryehx  

I thought a good start to this new podcast series about the Trans-Continental Railroad would be to look at Canada's first ever railroad, the Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad.  Built in 1836, it was Canada's first steps towards an industry that would shape Confederation.  Support: www.patreon.com/canadaehx Donate: www.canadaehx.com E-mail: craig@canadaehx.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/craigbaird Instagram: @Bairdo37 YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/canadianhistoryehx  

Welcome to my latest podcast. I will be looking at the history of the construction of the Trans-Continental Railway in Canada, from the people and places who helped make it happen along the way.  Don't forget to subscribe to my other podcasts, Canadian History Ehx, From John to Justin and Canada's Great War.  See you June 4!