November 2, 1885 - Completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway Announced

You're off by five days. The Canadian Pacific Railway's completion wasn't announced on November 2, 1885 — it was November 7, 1885, when Donald Smith drove the last iron spike at Craigellachie, British Columbia. A telegram reached Prime Minister John A. Macdonald moments after the ceremony, making it official. This single event transformed Canada from a fragile federation into a truly connected nation, and there's much more to that story than the spike itself.

Key Takeaways

• The Canadian Pacific Railway was completed on November 7, 1885, when Donald Smith drove the ceremonial last iron spike at Craigellachie, British Columbia.
• A telegram was sent to Prime Minister John A. Macdonald announcing the CPR's completion moments after the spike was driven.
• The first transcontinental train reached Port Moody on November 8, 1885, the day after the ceremony.
• Regular transcontinental passenger service did not begin until June 1886, pending completion of protective snowsheds in Rogers and Kicking Horse Passes.
• The first regular passenger train from Montreal arrived at Port Moody on July 4, 1886, officially beginning transcontinental service.

Who Was Donald Smith and Why Did He Drive the CPR's Last Spike?

Donald Smith—later known as Lord Strathcona—drove the Canadian Pacific Railway's last spike on November 7, 1885, because he was the most senior CPR official present at Craigellachie that day. As a key financier, Donald Smith had helped rescue the CPR through financial crises, natural disasters, and rebellion, ultimately fulfilling Canada's 1871 promise to British Columbia.

Born in Morayshire, Scotland, in 1820, Smith arrived in Canada in 1838 as a Hudson's Bay Company clerk, eventually rising to become one of the CPR's most influential directors. When he drove the ceremonial iron spike at 9:22 a.m., he bent the first one, requiring a second. The legacy artifacts from that bent spike were fashioned into jewelry for CPR directors' wives, with the remainder displayed at Canada's Science and Technology Museum. Much like Lesotho, which depends heavily on South Africa for trade and access to global markets, the CPR was itself a lifeline connecting Canada's regions to the wider world.

The historic photograph of Smith driving the spike was taken by Alexander J. Ross, a Winnipeg photographer who captured the moment at Craigellachie for posterity. The photograph itself is an 8 x 10 inch black-and-white albumen print, now held at Library and Archives Canada under accession number C-003693.

What Actually Happened at Craigellachie on November 7, 1885?

On the cold morning of November 7, 1885, a small gathering of railway workers and officials assembled at Craigellachie, British Columbia—45 km west of Revelstoke—to mark the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway. At 09:22, CPR director Donald Smith drove the ceremonial iron spike into the railway tie. His first swing bent the spike, requiring a replacement. He successfully drove the second spike, connecting the eastern and western rail segments.

Commemorative controversies surround the event, as multiple "last spikes" existed, including an absent Governor General Lord Lansdowne's silver spike, later presented to Van Horne. Local folklore still debates the whereabouts of the original iron spike after 125 years. The site now features a national monument, open year-round to visitors. The railway's completion was a monumental engineering feat, comparable in ambition to other extreme human achievements such as the first descent to the Challenger Deep bottom by Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh aboard the bathyscaphe Trieste in 1960. Van Horne's remark at the ceremony was simply: "All I can say is that the work has been well done in every way."

The bent spike was later repurposed into commemorative scarf pins, each set with 13 diamonds and a circular piece of the original iron spike at the centre, with a handful of these pins surviving to this day.

The Construction Crises That Nearly Stopped the CPR

The iron spike driven at Craigellachie on November 7, 1885, marked the triumphant end of a project that had nearly collapsed dozens of times before that moment. You'd have faced financial ruin first—the CPR struggled with crippling debt from the start, surviving only after the 1885 Riel Rebellion let the government justify emergency funding.

Natural disasters battered every phase, forcing expensive snowsheds through Rogers Pass and Kicking Horse Pass while weather delays drained worker pay. Labor exploitation kept costs low but human costs staggering—three Chinese workers died per mile, earning a fraction of white workers' wages while absorbing the most dangerous assignments.

Without the Rebellion's political momentum and ruthless budget cutting, that final spike might never have been driven at all. The completion also fulfilled a promise made in 1871 to British Columbia, which had threatened secession when successive governments repeatedly mismanaged the project and missed the original deadline.

The railway's completion did not bring relief for Chinese workers—intensified anti-Chinese sentiment, a punishing head tax, and sweeping restrictions on Chinese immigration followed swiftly in the post-construction period. These economic pressures on marginalized communities mirrored struggles seen elsewhere, such as Afghanistan's 1973 currency stabilization measures, which similarly sought to protect purchasing power amid financial instability and declining reserves.

What Happened After the Last Spike Was Driven?

Within moments of Donald Smith driving that final iron spike at Craigellachie, a telegram raced to Prime Minister John A. Macdonald, announcing the CPR's completion. You'd think trains would've rolled immediately, but post completion realities slowed things down.

The first transcontinental train reached Port Moody on November 8, 1885, yet through trains didn't run regularly until June 1886, as workers still needed to finish protective snowsheds in Rogers and Kicking Horse Passes. The first regular passenger train didn't arrive in Port Moody from Montreal until July 4, 1886.

The economic impact became undeniable quickly. Canada now had a working transcontinental link connecting the Pacific Coast to eastern networks and Halifax. The railway fulfilled the 1871 promise to British Columbia and cemented Canada's national connectivity across 5,000 kilometres of track. The project had originally been assigned to the newly incorporated CPR company, which was given ten additional years to complete it but finished in just five.

In British Columbia alone, an estimated 15,000 Chinese men and boys had been recruited to lay track through some of the most treacherous terrain, facing rockslides, blasting accidents, and devastating loss of life throughout the construction effort.

How the CPR Unified Canada and Ended Its Dependence on Foreign Loans

Beyond connecting rails, the CPR fundamentally reshaped Canada's economic and national identity. It linked British Columbia to eastern Canada, transforming isolated regions into a unified nation. John A. Macdonald's National Policy gained real strength through rail, pulling western provinces firmly into confederation and boosting internal trade across a single economic market.

The CPR also secured Canada's national sovereignty by breaking free from foreign financial dependence. The government reorganized CPR debt, provided a $5 million loan, and shifted toward domestic financing that sustained operations independently. Once profitable, the CPR repaid government guarantees and funded expansions like the $3.6 million Crowsnest Pass line without foreign intervention. Rail revenues generated dividends, eliminating reliance on outside capital and proving Canada could build and sustain its own critical infrastructure on its own terms. The CPR further diversified its financial strength by establishing profitable subsidiaries and corporations, including ventures such as Canadian Pacific Airlines and energy companies that would eventually form Alberta Energy.

The railway's origins were marked by political controversy, as the Pacific Scandal of 1873 brought down John A. Macdonald's Conservative government after federal contracts were granted to Hugh Allan's Canada Pacific Railway Company amid allegations of bribery, delaying the project's progress under the subsequent Liberal administration.

Why the 1885 Completion of the CPR Was a Turning Point for Canada

When Donald Smith drove the last spike at Craigellachie on November 7, 1885, Canada's transcontinental dream became reality. You can trace nearly every major shift in Canada's post-Confederation identity back to that single moment.

The CPR didn't just connect Montreal to Vancouver — it opened the interior to settler expansion, bringing hundreds of thousands of newcomers into Canada's western regions. Western trade accelerated as goods moved efficiently across the continent and onward to Asian markets. British Columbia's loyalty to Canada, conditional since 1871, was finally secured. The railway also fulfilled the federal government's promise five years ahead of the extended 1891 deadline, proving Canada could execute nation-building on its own terms. The CPR transformed Canada from a fragile federation into a genuinely connected, economically ambitious country. To make this possible, the government awarded the Canadian Pacific Railway Company 25 million acres of land along the right-of-way, alongside cash grants and the transfer of existing government-built rail lines.

The first regular passenger train from Montreal arrived at Port Moody on 4th July, 1886, marking the beginning of transcontinental rail service that made Canada independent in the matter of railway transportation.