WSAC Genealogy Meeting – Wednesday September 4.25
Topic: The Vital Role of Railways in Immigration and Settlement in Alberta with Les Kozma
Les provided an excellent insight into the role of railways in the early settlement of Alberta. They played a vital role in not only providing transportation in the area before the building of roads, but they were the communication line for products and services both coming in and out of the province. For many early settlers, it was the means of passage to their new homeland and settlement on their homesteads.
There have been three phases of railway development in Alberta:
- The Pioneer Era 1879 – 1898:
This was a period of early railway construction in the Canadian West. The Canadian government’s intent was to secure the west for Canada and avoid American encroachment into the prairies. A transcontinental railway from Ontario through to Vancouver was seen as a means to ensure that Canada would retain ownership of the prairie region. Railway lines were expanded during these years into more remote regions. Alberta witnessed the building of rail lines north from Calgary to Edmonton, followed by branches further east, west and north into then unsettled territories.
- The Pre- War Boom 1898 – 1918:
With the railways criss-crossing the area, settlement followed. An aggressive advertising campaign was launched to attract new settlers from eastern Canada, the United States and Europe, particularly Eastern Europe. By 1914, an estimated 3 million immigrants arrived in Canada, most coming to the prairie region. The promise of 160 acres of free land and the ability to live a life free of poverty, oppression and persecution built Alberta into one of Canada’s major grain producing regions. The railways enabled this growth, bringing settlers to the settlement areas of the province, and likewise transporting goods both to and from these areas. Railways were the life-line for the hundreds of new settlers to Alberta.
- The Inter-War Boom 1919 – 1935:
Following the First World War (1914-1918) railway construction and expansion continued. The Inter-War Boom period saw a growth of a diversity of industries in Alberta beyond grain farming. Cattle ranching in the southern regions, coal mining in the foothills and mountain areas, lumbering, sugar beet processing, and brick manufacturing expanded the province’s growth and contributed to a period of economic prosperity during the 1920s. More and more new settlers arrived in the province to support the increasing diversity of economic opportunities. All of this growth depended heavily upon the support of railways.
This growth though fell drastically when the Great Depression came during the 1930s. With severe droughts, grain production fell significantly, and many homesteaders simply abandoned their land and moved to the cities in search of work or emigrated to other regions outside the province. With the building of roads and improved transportation with trucks and automobiles, dependency on the railways gradually declined in the post-World War II years.
The railways contributed in several ways to the growth of Alberta:
- They opened the region to settlement. Without the presence of roads, the railways were in most parts of the province the only means of transportation and communication. A network of rail lines criss-crossing the province enabled settlers to reach the outer regions of the province transitioning them into productive farms and villages.
- The railway built many of the villages and hamlets throughout the province. Railways were required to build a railway depot every eight to ten miles along their tracks. An estimated 83% of the villages in Alberta were laid out along rail lines. These villages provided not only residences for some settlers, but supported the development of businesses that served the neighbouring region with goods and services.
- Railways were vital to grain farmers. Farmers transported their grain produce to the nearby depot where it was sold to grain dealers who in turn transported the grain by rail east to Thunder Bay for shipment further east. Millions of tons of grain were moved by the railways and without their existence, grain farming in Alberta would have been impossible.
- Similarly, the influx of settlers to Alberta beginning in the 1890s was accommodated by the railways. Settlers new to Canada, boarded a train in Halifax or Quebec City, and travelled the long journey over several days to their destination in Alberta. Although a long journey characterized by challenging and sometimes deplorable conditions, the railways offered the best means of transportation west. Even the Harvest Excursionists of the early 1900s travelled west from eastern Canada by rail and without their assistance, grain crops may not have been harvested before the onset of winter.
On the other hand, there were some dissolutions with railways during this same period:
- Initially the CPR was the only rail line in Alberta. They held a twenty year exclusive access to Alberta with no other railway company permitted to build in the province. In 1880 a syndicate was signed for $25 million and 25 million acres as compensation for the building of the railway in Alberta. This did in essence create a monopoly by the CPR over rail transportation which many settlers felt was an unfair advantage.
- Although farmers could only ship their grain with the CPR during the early years, the government did set the shipping rate at 1.5 cents per mile. Still farmers had but one option to transport their grain.
- With the requirement of having a railway depot/station every eight to ten miles along the rail lines, villages sprang up surrounding the depots. But the adjacent lands were owned by the railways who in turn would auction the land to potential buyers. Speculators often purchased these lands and in turn resold them to settlers at inflated prices.
- Communication with outer regions was in most cases solely dependent upon the railways. Railway schedules and the scrutiny of station masters dictated the availability of services for settlers. Although the trains operated to the Railway Time Table established in 1882, the individual discretion of station masters, train engineers and even the weather determined if trains arrived on time or at all. Several times people and goods did not move because “the trains weren’t moving today”.
- Settlers often were exploited and disillusioned by the railways and immigration officials. Attracted to settlement in Alberta, they left their homeland with visions of land ownership, prosperous farms, and a better life. Sold 160 acres of railway lands sight unseen, they would find that their land was uninhabitable. Forced to abandon their land with no compensation, they would need to relocate to more hospitable areas at additional cost and hardship.
- Even though government establishment of transportation fares and shipping rates attempted to ensure a fair cost to users, the railways did hold a monopoly on their services. Farmers and settlers had only one option when it came to travelling or transporting their goods.
The importance of the railways in opening up Alberta goes undisputed. They provided not only the principal means of transportation of people and services, but they were instrumental in penetrating to the outer regions of the province where they played the role as the principal means of communication. There was some exploitation of settlers during the settlement years, but generally it is recognized that without the railways, Alberta would not have enjoyed the growth and eventual prosperity it came to enjoy.
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Learning Moment:
Tombstone Symbols – Flowers
- Bellflowers – Hope for Eternal Peace
- Lillies – Marriage / Fidelity
- Daffodils – Rebirth / New Beginnings
- Daisies – Joyfulness, Hope and Love
- Lillies of the Valley – Humility / Hope
- Morning Glories – Loss of a Young Person
- Roses – Life Ending in its Prime
Source: Sept/Oct 2025, Family Tree Magazine
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Upcoming Events
Here are the website links for upcoming genealogy events as presented in our meeting September 3.25:
- WSAC Genealogy Group on the WSAC General Website:
https://weseniors.ca/whats_new/genealogy-drop-in-class/
- Family History Fair – Saturday, October 25, 2025
https://www.edmontongenealogy.ca/edmonton-family-history-fair
- AGS Fall Workshop – Camrose, AB – October 4. 2025
https://www.abgenealogy.ca/news-events
- AGS Training – AGS, Edmonton –
- Introduction to Genealogy – Sept 27.25
- Tracing Your Family Tree – Nov 1, 8 and 22
https://www.abgenealogy.ca/join-ags
- The Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland – Rebuilding the Public Record Office of 1922
- MAC Genealogy User SIG (In-Person Only) – Sept 8.25 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
https://www.edmontongenealogy.ca/mac-genealogy-user-sig
- Technology for Genealogy SIG – Tips and Tricks (Zoom) Sept 18 – 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
https://www.edmontongenealogy.ca/technology-for-genealogy-sig
- 8. Town Halls – AGS (Zoom or In Person) Meet President Karen Wilson and provide input on
Goals and priorities for the Edmonton AGS.
https://www.edmontongenealogy.ca/town-hall
- The Ukraine Genealogy Group (UGG) – September 2025 Newsletter
Listing of happening with Ukrainian Genealogy.