Land speculation in 1900s leads to profitable acquisitions

Was it a coincidence that Sir Frederick Borden, the minister of Militia and Defence, prepared a Bill late in 1910 proposing the construction of a railway to Cape Split, where a major power project was being considered?

The railway, if constructed, would have its terminal at Cape Split, reaching it in a roundabout way.

Borden’s proposal had the rail line starting in his riding in Canning. After running northward to Pereau, Delhaven, Blomidon and Scots Bay, the line would turn eastward and run to Cape Split. Various branches running off the main line also were proposed.

Borden and his business partners in Canning and Kentville were believed to hold land at the time in areas the proposed rail line skirted.

At the time Borden drew up the proposal, rumours were flying about a power project harnessing the Bay of Fundy tides at Cape Split. Having a rail line running to Cape Split might have made the power project more viable. But as we know, the Cape Split power project eventually failed, mainly due to a lack of financing.

Regardless if there was a power project at Cape Split, a rail line running north from Canning had little chance of being commercially successful. Apparently, that’s what the federal government thought. Borden forwarded his Bill to the minister of finance but it was never introduced.

However, Borden was on the right track. Besides opening up a relatively unsettled area, the proposed line would have benefitted three industries — farming, fishing, and lumbering.

Look at what happened to the apple industry, for example, when a new rail line was constructed along Kings County’s orchard belt.

Around the time the Cape Split line was proposed, the so-called North Mountain (Weston) branch of the Dominion Atlantic Railway was constructed. Built to service fruit growers, the line was soon handling thousands of barrels of apples annually and proved to be eminently successful.

Railway historians claim that the Weston line was unique. While there were several stops along its 25-kilometre stretch, there were no station agents. The line used a travelling agent, one who went up and down the line on the train, performing the work of a regular agent. Again, quoting railway historians, this arrangement was said to be unique in Canada.

Getting back to Borden and the line to Cape Split, as the minister of Militia and Defence, Borden was involved in the wholesale move of Aldershot Camp from the Aylesford Plains to its present location. Land speculators somehow had advanced knowledge of the move, as they did of the proposed rail line to Cape Split, and purchased land for mere pennies in and around where the new camp would be located.

Borden’s involvement with the proposed Cape Split line and the land speculation around Aldershot Camp was questioned in Parliament.

In and around the future Aldershot Camp, about 600 acres were purchased before the move was officially announced for an average price of $6.20 an acre. This land was later sold to the federal government for $20 an acre.