Canada's National Policy
...n of British Columbia when they joined the Confederation in 1871. The Intercontinental Railroad, known as the Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR), was a policy that should have been completed before the National Policy was introduced. Prior to 1878, Alexander Mackenzie (Prime Minister of Canada 1873-1878) decided to hold off the construction of the railroad due to federal problems in trade and money matters. When John A. MacDonald was re-elected, he was determined to complete the railroad. He was so determined; he gave a ten-year deadline of completion. A contracted company, the CPR, while being financed by the Canadian government, would complete the railroad. The CPR received alternating land on either side of the railway, which was sold to farmers in order to pay for the CPR’s other expenses. In two years, from 1880-1882, the railway was completed from Fort William to Winnipeg. Unfortunately, in 1883, the contractors needed more money from the government, and again in 1885. The government was unsure but was convinced how important the railway was for transporting troops during the Manitoba Rebellion. On November 7, 1885, the last spike was driven into the ground at Craigellachie, completing the railroad “from sea to sea1.” After five years, the world’s longest railway was finally finished; in half the time MacDonald expected. The final component in the National Policy was the settlement of the west. This was MacDonald’s toughest obstacle. In 1872, the Conservatives passed the Dominion Land Act, which made purchasing land easier for settlers. Many foreigners came and thousands of Americans took up homesteads in the west. Most of these men and women moved to the cities or went to the United States a few years after. By 1901, the Prairies had a population of approximately 250 000. Later, Wilfred Laurier (Prime Minister of Canada 1896 – 1911) understood John A. MacDonald’s need for the settlement of the west. He created an immigration policy to better the Canadian West. Clifford Sifton, the Minister of Interior, promoted western settlement in the United States, the United Kingdom, and in Eastern Europe. Again, many Americans crossed the border and made a home for themselves because of the lowered land price. Europeans,...