Content
Skip to Main ContentAccessibility Help
Canada: The Story of Us

The gold rush made Dawson City the biggest in Canada, west of Winnipeg

In the late 1800s, Canada was full of innovators, rebels and ambitious hustlers. 8 surprising facts from Canada: The Story of Us, episode 5.

8 surprising facts from Canada: The Story of Us, Episode 5

CBC ·
Prospectors in Dawson City encountered a uniquely Canadian style of justice in the form of Sam Steele, an ex-soldier and the North-West Mounted Police officer in charge of the region. (Canada: The Story of Us)

Dawson City was once the biggest Canadian city west of Winnipeg. But that's not the only surprising fact about Canada in the late 1800s.

Find out why Louis Riel's time in Montreal helped make him hostile to Canadian expansion and how a former American slave helped found Alberta's beef industry.

B.C. becomes an official colony to fend off American expansion

When 30,000 Americans came rushing in following the discovery of gold in 1858, Britain needed to establish claim over the land that was administered by the Hudson's Bay Company — or risk losing it to the U.S.

The promise of a rail connection lures B.C. into confederation

Joining forces with four other former colonies on the other side of the continent was a risky move, but it was sweetened by the promise of a rail link to Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes.

Métis leader Louis Riel saw Canadian expansion as a threat to his people's sovereignty and way of life. (Canada: The Story of Us)

Louis Riel objects to Canadian expansion, partly based on his years in Montreal

In his teens, Riel had gone to Montreal to study at a seminary. He had seen the scale of settlement and urbanization in Quebec and realized that extensive Canadian expansion in the Red River Colony would threaten the Métis people and their traditional way of life.

Big Bear refuses to sign Treaty No. 6 for 6 years — until it becomes a matter of survival

The Cree leader did not trust the federal government to honour its treaty promises, and only agreed to sign when his people, bereft of Buffalo, faced starvation.

Cree leader Big Bear refused to sign Treaty Number Six for six years. (Canada: The Story of Us)

A former American slave, John Ware, helps found the Alberta's beef industry

John Ware was born into slavery in South Carolina. When he was freed following the American Civil War, he moved to Texas to learn the cowboy trade. He was one of the leaders of the drive team brought 3,000 head of cattle from Idaho to the Bar-U Ranch outside Calgary. He stayed on as a ranchhand at the Bar-U and eventually opened his own ranch.

We still don't know how many Chinese workers died building the CPR

The number is estimated to be over 600, but there was never an official count of Chinese deaths and no compensation for their families back home. Between 1881 and 1884, more than 15,000 Chinese men came to build the Canadian Pacific Railway. They were paid only half of what white workers made. They were also given the most dangerous jobs.

The Big Hill was the steepest stretch of railway in North America

High in the Rocky Mountains, west of the Continental Divide and Kicking Horse Pass, was The Big Hill,  the most difficult piece of railway track on the Canadian Pacific Railway's route. With a gradient of 4.4 per cent, the Hill was hard for trains to get up — and even harder to get safely back down. Pioneering railway engineer James Ross had to build three safety switches to divert runaway and allow them to come to a complete stop.

The gold rush makes Dawson City the biggest city in Canada, west of Winnipeg

With the 1896 discovery of gold in the Klondike, Dawson City, capital of the newly formed Yukon Territory, swells to more than 30,000 people in two years.