How do you get from one place to another?

Depending on where you live, you can probably go to school or work by a variety of means: walking, running, biking, skateboarding, driving or riding as a passenger in a car, taking the bus or transit system, taking a cab, and so on. If you want to go farther than school or work, you could take a plane, train, bus, or perhaps even a boat. In this activity, you will learn about the role of transportation in Canada's history. 

Transportation systems in Canada today are quite well developed. They are so much a part of daily life that you may not often think about what moving around would be like without all the convenient means that have been developed to move people and goods around the country. However, it was not always so easy!

When explorers came to Canada from Europe, First Nations peoples travelled mainly by foot and also by using snowshoes and toboggans in the winter and canoes in summer. As more settlers came to Canada, more methods of transportation were developed to move people around the country and establish more permanent settlements.

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According to Transport Canada, some major points in the development of a national transportation system include these events:

• The first lighthouse was built in 1733 at Louisbourg, Nova Scotia.

• The first train tracks were built at Pictou, Nova Scotia.

• In 1886, the first train to travel across Canada arrived in Port Moody, British Columbia.

• In 1904, the Canadian government ordered two icebreakers.

• In 1909, the first airplane, the Silver Dart, was flown in Canada.

• In 1936, the Department of Transportation (now called Transport Canada) was created to oversee and regulate the development of various means of public transportation in Canada.

• During World War II (1939 – 1945), many airstrips and airports were built.

• In 1962, the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1) was opened.

Today, the networks of roads, railways, airports, and waterways connect your community with others in your province as well as Canada and the rest of the world. Transportation has a major role in your life.