That three streets in Brandon’s core area are named after people involved in leadership positions with the CPR reminds us of the role played by the railway in the creation and development of our city.

In fact Brandon occupies a unique place in the story of Western Canada.

The choices made in 1881 set the course for the creation of the Prairie Provinces as we know them.  The map of Western Canada as it exists today is a direct result of the decisions that created Brandon.

Had the line taken the route first proposed by Sanford Fleming back in 1873, Swan River may well have become Manitoba’s second city.

Looking west, the cities of Regina and Calgary would not exist in their current form

Had the line taken the route along the Carleton Trail that many advocated in the late 1870’s, Rapid City might indeed be a city, or if the north branch were selected, Minnedosa or Birtle could have been the divisional point and the hub of the region.

But the leadership of the CPR “Syndicate”, and the government of Canada, decided that the route should be close to the border, through sparsely populated, untested farm land.

For the CPR that meant the profitable creation of towns rather than the expensive purchase of land in existing towns.

For the Government it meant establishing a presence that might cut of efforts of American lines to reach across our borders.

Every decision made by the railway as it moved west hinged on that first decision… to cross the Assiniboine here and to make that site the divisional point.

Brandon’s street names tell a story.

Stickney Avenue in the North End residential area, originally a home to migrant workers and to poorer classes in general, pays tribute to for Alpheus Beede Stickney the first Superintendent of railroad construction for Canadian Pacific Railway.

His employment for the CPR was short-lived. Stickney resigned at the end of that year under allegations that he and CPR Chief Engineer Rosser had made a considerable amount of money on land speculation based on their knowledge of the railway’s route plans west of Winnipeg.

General Rosser, generally regarded as Stickney’s partner in crime, had the ‘Main” street named after him.

William Cornelius Van Horne, who took over from Stickney and went on to finish the project and run it for many years, is relegated to what would have been the outskirts – six blocks up the hill.
 
Pacific, Hill and McTavish Avenues each have direct connections to John A. MacDonald's dream of a transcontinental Railway.

MacDonald himself has a street named after him in the north end.

Pacific Avenue, which runs along the south side of the tracks was a direct tribute to the CPR.  It was the first major road with hotels, bars, elevators  & stores.   .
 
Hill Avenue in the south end of the city was named after James Hill, a member of the original "syndicate" as the CPR was first called, that signed the contract with the Government of Canada to build the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1881 but he left in 1883 to concentrate on his US Great Northern Line.
 
John McTavish was a CPR Land Commissioner. He too was honoured with a street close to his CPR colleague Van Horne.

Rosser’s Last Stand

When General Rosser rejected the Grand Valley site and simply moved up stream where he could buy the land for the Syndicate, & himself, for much less, that decision that saved the CPR a significant amount of money.
 
But the land speculation that both Stickney and Rosser were involved in was drawing attention.

Stickney was the first to go. With only 131 miles of track in place, he was replaced by William Cornelius Van Horne an American with a reputation for getting things done. Van Horne soon fired Rosser.

In the words of Pierre Berton; “Rosser was not an easy man to dismiss”. He fought back. A deal was eventually struck, Rosser would resign and charges against him would be dropped.

Rosser’s choice of the more southerly route would prove over time to be the right one.

It cut off American encroachment, set in motion a pattern of settlement, and set a path of least resistance for construction across the prairies.

Regardless of his departure under a cloud of allegations, Rosser’s selection of the site of Brandon has had an enduring impact.

William Cornelius Van Horne

Today William Van Horne is highly regarded today in CPR circles for completing the rail line & running it successfully for many years afterwards.
 
Van Horne was appointed general manager of the CPR on 1 Jan 1882, and he used his excellent managerial skills to improve the organization of construction on the prairie section, which was complete from Winnipeg to Calgary by Aug 1883.

Van Horne succeeded George Stephen as president of the CPR in 1888. He regarded the Canadian Pacific as a transportation and communications system.

At his insistence, the company developed a telegraph service and entered the express business. Van Horne was also the founder of CP Hotels; as an amateur architect he helped plan the Banff Springs and Château Frontenac hotels. He negotiated the famous Crow’s Nest Pass Agreement, which substantially reduced freight rates on Prairie grain and flour.

He was awarded a knighthood in 1894. To mark his passing, the CPR ceased operations for a day