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Remembering continued from page 9“The Last Spike represents thesingle most important constructionproject in the history of our countryand also the most influential in thedevelopment of Canada’s nationalidentity. It represents the completionof the railway and the fulfillment ofPrime Minister John A. Macdonald’spromise to British Columbia to connectthe province to the rest of Canada byrail,” said Del Mastro, who noted CPplayed a critical role in establishingCanada’s first national park, Banff,125 years ago.“The famous ribbon of steel unitedCanada from the Atlantic to thePacific, encouraged the settlement ofour Prairie and Western provinces, andallowed goods, services and people toflow from coast to coast.”The Last Spike signaled thecompletion of the CPR and remains asymbol of national unity in Canada.At the time, it fulfilled an 1871commitment made by the Canadianfederal government to BritishColumbia, which stipulated a railroadbe built joining the Pacific provinceto Central Canada. The promise ofa transcontinental railway had beena major factor in British Columbia’sdecision to join the CanadianConfederation.“This iconic event marked animportant chapter in our history,but also signaled the innovation therailway would bring to the countryover the ensuing decades. We honourthe hundreds of thousands of menand women who have worked so hardover the last 125 years to make CPand Canada what it is today,” saidGreen, CP’s 16th president. “Our workcontinues to make history every day –from driving the last spike to drivingthe digital railway.”CP correlated the driving ofthe last spike in 1885 to its focuson the digital railway by puttingstate-of-the-art technology at thefingertips of employees. The railwayannounced a series of legacy gifts toeducational institutions supportingtechnological innovation andhelping to shape future leaders forthe transportation industry.Most notably, CP pledged $1million to the formation of theCanadian Centre for AdvancedSupply Chain Management andLogistics within the Universityof Calgary’s Haskayne Schoolof Business and the Van HorneInstitute, and $250,000 to createan endowment fund named“The Teck Graduate Award inEnvironmental Sustainability”within Simon Fraser University’sfaculty of environment, inrecognition of CP’s long-timepartner, Teck Resources Ltd.The Canadian Pacific Railwaywas founded in 1881.The firsttranscontinental train leftMontréal, Quebec, and Toronto,Ontario, for Port Moody, BC, onJune 28, 1886. The final spike wasdriven at Craigellachie at 9:22 a.m.on Nov. 7, 1885. It was driven inby CPR railroad financier DonaldSmith, marking the end of a sagaof natural disasters, financial crisesand even rebellion that plaguedCanada’s first transcontinentalrailroad from its beginning. ●10 Interchange Winter 2011