Settlement of the Prairies by Europeans required transportation infrastructure. In 1881, Ottawa announced generous terms: the Canadian Pacific Railway Company was awarded a charter, whereby the company reviewed $25 million from the federal government, 1,000 km of existing railway lines in eastern Canada owned by the federal government, and over 10 million ha of prairie land.
The terms were successful, and the CPR line was completed in 1885, with mostly foreign workers having overcome the difficult and dangerous labor involved in pushing the rail line across the Cordillera.
As a result, the new Dominion achieved four important nation-forming goals:
a) Economic self-sufficiency, cultural diversity, improved Indigenous relations, and environmental sustainability.
b) Indigenous self-governance, technological innovation, increased immigration, and economic prosperity.
c) National unity, economic expansion, westward expansion, and increased foreign investment.
d) Improved transportation, economic integration, territorial expansion, and strengthened ties with European nations.