“In many ways the history of transportation in Canada is rather a touchy subject. It has been said, with more than a grain of truth I think, that there have been more transportation facilities, especially railways, built in Canada for political rather than economic reasons. The inevitable consequence of this has been a certain strain on the pocketbooks of the taxpayers. The Dawson Trail, I should say, falls in this category but in a somewhat happier sense because while it was somewhat displaced by rail transportation, for a few vital years, it served a very essential political purpose of maintaining the bonds between the East and the West. As a matter of fact, in the period which closed with the building of the road there was a very real pull from the Canadian West toward the south. The old Portage Trail of the NorthWest Company had worn very thin. It was quite impossible to meet the economic competition of the cart trails to St. Paul, later to Moorhead where it met the head of steel. Then came the river transportation in 1888 on the Red River. By and large, the pull toward the south increased and it became absolutely necessary, if the west was to be preserved for the British Crown, that transportation facilities to the east should be improved. The Dawson Trail was the first bit to establish a purely Canadian route between East and West after the breakdown of the old canoe route of the Northwest Company. The importance of the trail was not realized, I think, for many years. It was finished in time to be completely useful to the Wolseley Expedition but at the same time the survey and the preliminary work was of great importance indeed. But in addition to that, it served as the forerunner to the rail connection between East and East.
"...As I said at the beginning this was a political as well as an economic project. It wasn’t expected to pay its own way. It was built, if you like, for an ulterior purpose. As a result it was very difficult to maintain a good service on the road and if one reads the files of the local newspapers, he will be impressed at the very numerous complaints of the service that was provided….
"Now, with the passing of the Dawson Road, the passing of its importance as far as the link between East and West is concerned, the first stage was the completion of the rail (from the south) in 1878 but it still fulfilled its function as the only Canadian route until the completion of the Canadian Pacific (from the east) some 6 or 7 years later. In the meantime, the Dawson Road filled that essential gap, helped to bridge that greatest barrier to the unity of Canada, the Laurentian Shield. It helped to hold Canada East and Canada West together in a very vital period of Canadian history. The road may not have been a very good one, but it was a great deal better than no road at all. It may never have been a success economically but it was a very great success politically [for Canada] and the part played by the Dawson Road in establishing Canadian unity in a period when that unity was very intangible indeed. I think we do well to commemorate the memory of that road today by the cairn which has been erected on this site. Thank you.”
Professor R.O. MacFarlane, President, Manitoba Historical Society, August, 1940 in his speech at the unveiling of the commemorative cairn in Ste. Anne-des-Chênes. Source: CKY Broadcast (1940, August,5). Ste. Anne Manitoba [Audio file]. Provincial Archives of Manitoba GR13706, 36 min.
Professor McFarlane at the cairn unveiling August 4, 1940. He spoke about the historical significance of the Dawson Route. Dawson Trail Museum collection
“John (Jean) Huppe (left) is shown just after he unveiled the cairn with Max Champagne who read the inscription. Below, a section of the crowd round the cairn. Rev. D’Eschambault, who represented the historic sites and monuments board can be seen with bowed head near the tablet.” The Winnipeg Free Press. Monday August 5, 1940 (P.3). Retrieved from https://newspaperarchive.com/ca/mb/winnipeg/winnipeg-free-press/1940/aug-05-p-3/
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Speakers at the unveiling ceremony. Source: Winnipeg Tribune. (1940, Aug 5). Story on the national designation of the Dawson Route August 4, 1940 in Ste-Anne-des-Chênes (P.5). Retrieved from https://newspaperarchive.com/ca/mb/winnipeg/winnipeg-tribune/1940/aug-05-p-5/ |
Other speakers at the unveiling ceremony. Source: Winnipeg Tribune. (1940, Aug 5). Story on the national designation of the Dawson Route on August 4, 1940 in Ste-Anne-des-Chênes (P.5). Retrieved from https://newspaperarchive.com/ca/mb/winnipeg/winnipeg-tribune/1940/aug-05-p-5/ |
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