MAKING TRACKS

1830

Canada’s first railway opens in Pictou, N.S., for carrying freight only

1836

Canada’s first public railway opens in Quebec

1853

The Grand Trunk Railway between Montreal and Portland, Maine becomes North America’s first cross-border railway

1867

Confederation: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec and Ontario join to create Canada

1871

British Columbia joins Confederation after being promised a railway to the rest of Canada