Parks Canada, Canadian Pacific celebrate the Last Spike
Written by jrood
On behalf of the Honorable John Baird, Minister of the Environment and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, Dean Del Mastro, Member of Parliament for Peterborough and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, and Fred Green, Canadian Pacific President and CEO, recognized the 125th anniversary of one the most significant moments in Canadian history, the driving of the Last Spike, which completed the country's first transcontinental railway.
Marking this important
occasion, Del Mastro and Green hammered a symbolic spike at Craigellachie,
British Columbia, accompanied by members of the Shuswap Nation, area mayors,
local schools and special guests from Lord Strathcona Horse Regiment (Royal
Canadians) and the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery.
"The Last Spike
represents the single most important construction project in the history of our
country and also the most influential in the development of Canada’s national
identity. It represents the completion of the railway and the fulfillment of
Prime Minister John A. Macdonald’s promise to British Columbia to connect the
province to the rest of Canada by rail," said Del Mastro, who also noted
that the CP played a critical role in establishing Canada’s first national
park, Banff, 125 years ago.
As Donald Smith, later
known as Lord Strathcona, drove home the Last Spike to complete Canada’s first
transcontinental railway on November 7, 1885, the country ceased to be, in the
words of Macdonald, "a mere geographic expression." Against
formidable odds, the ribbon of steel rail united the new province of British
Columbia with the more populous centers in the East.
"It is with extreme
pride that I stand here with Mr. Del Mastro on this very special day,"
said Green, CP’s 16th president. "This iconic event marked an important
chapter in our history, but also signaled the innovation the railway would
bring to the country over the ensuing decades. We honor the hundreds of
thousands of men and women who have worked so hard over the last 125 years to
make CP and Canada what it is today. Our work continues to make history every
day – from driving the last spike to driving the digital railway."
