Canadian Pacific Railway Completion

On June 27, 1885, at a remote siding in Craigellachie, British Columbia, Donald A. Smith drove the final spike into the Canadian Pacific Railway, linking the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. This monumental engineering feat overcame the Rocky Mountains and vast prairies using thousands of laborers, including Chinese workers, and featured innovative trestles and tunnels. Key figures included William Cornelius Van Horne and Sandford Fleming. The completion transformed Canada into a unified nation, enabling rapid settlement, resource transport, and economic growth while establishing CPR as a global rail powerhouse with lasting impacts on tourism and freight.