American Reacts to the Trans-Canada Highway
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- Опубліковано 11 вер 2024
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As an American I did not know that there is a giant highway that spans across all of Canada. Today I am very interested in learning about the Trans-Canada Highway and the story behind it. If you enjoyed the video feel free to leave a comment, like, or subscribe for more!
If this highway blows your mind… wait until you see the The world's longest trail, its in Canada. The Great Trail, formerly known as the Trans Canada Trail, runs for 14,912 miles (or 24,000km) and is currently the longest hiking trail in the world.
Yes it's actually insane now extensive it is. I've been on it intentionally few times, but more parts completely by happenstance, part of it ran infront of my highschool through a thin strip of forest on a converted railway line. Then in Toronto I've frequently used sections that cut right through the city used regularly as walking and bike poths.
When did they change the name from trans Canada trail? And why?
It is the trans American trail. My cousin James Thorsell wrote the athoritive book on it back in the early 60's. He was an ecologist from the U of Alberta, worked for parks Canada and became the head of world parks for the UN. This trail runs the ridge line from Alaska to Mexico. From what I understand that the trail is extremely hard to find and stay on that is the reason his book is soght after. There was a UA-camr trying to follow it, can't remember who it was. Cheers boys.
Oh Jim past, 2023.
You appear to have a few misconceptions about these trails. The Trans AmeriCan Trail was not created until 1984, according to their official website. It is also located completely within the continental United States. Google 'Trans American Trail' to get the facts.
As ALL Canadian's know it is for our military. You see, we keep the GUN in British Columbia and the Bullets in Newfoundland. And almost all of our NAVY in Saskatchewan. Just facts here. All Canadians will thumb this up guaranteed!
Hilarious !
@@landlice48 as someone from B.C. I can confirm this is true, I keep the guns 🙂
Thank you! It's a lost art. @@landlice48
Yes. My wife has driven this Trans-Canada highway twice before I met her. It is quite the journey. Quebec is like a different country within Canada, and takes the loonie at par! 😂 Good on you to even learn something about Canada, your neighbour (spelled the British way, not “neighbor”). US schools should teach about your neighbours, not just Mexico.
@Balognamanforya they have guns over there?
Terry Fox's Marathon of Hope was a plan to run the entire Trans Canada Highway in one year.
Remarkably, he made it halfway with his cancer.
Steve Fonyo ran the the whole way on one leg
Steve Fonyo was a bitch that needed to beat, or to do better than Terry… he never wanted to support Terry and continue his run for him, he started for the publicity of doing better than him. People would’ve had more respect for him if he started the run where Terry was forced to end his, kinda like he was supporting Terry, not competing with him. But Steve wanted his name bigger than Terry’s, and he failed due to his selfishness
That’s why there is a Terry Fox Run every year, and nothing to remember that idiot, Fonyo (who I just now googled, to learn he died 2yrs ago, and to prove my point, his death was not an event that hit the news in Canada 🥱)
Terry Fox is a Canadian Hero. Fonyo is all but forgotten.
@Washadamoak
Yes he did... but who remembers Fonyo?
Ask most people and they won't know. They will remember Fox because we prefer DEAD heros.
Fonyo was given the Order of Canada but that was stripped from him. He became an aircraft mechanic and lived quietly in ... Abbotsford I think.
not always so quietly, he had a number of run-ins with the police and had substance abuse problems, I don't know if he settled down at some point@@rickkwitkoski1976
Steve Fonyo died in 2022. After completing the Marathon of Hope he got caught up in a life of crime, subsequently stripped of his Order Of Canada.
@@rickkwitkoski1976
I drove the Trans Can in 1991 with my best friend (in a 400$ station wagon) , I can't emphasize enough how incredibly awesome the trip is! Every Canadian should do it at least once in their lifetime.
I've sort of kind of started to plan a trip along the highway for a few years down the road, when my kids are a bit older. Probably take a month or more, stop and see all the sights =) We're in NB so pretty close to the East coast start so we'll just go west since we've done most of the east already lol
I drove from NS to Sask, and back again, unfortunately I didn't get to the west coast (I really wanted to, but a bad accident kiboshed that idea)
I traveled down I75 to Florida and I saw how beautiful our cousins and friends country is.
Shridra there are two routes through northern Ontario, Hughway 11 and 17. And they are exactly the same distance. Highway 17, the more southern route, runs right along Lake Huron, which is pretty breathtaking. However, it can get very slippery with moisture coming off the lake. So Highway 11 is probably safer. But you have to plan very carefully because the towns are very small and very spread out, so it would be easy to run out of fuel thinking that you have enough to take you to the next gas station. So beware of that!
@@dianedee7919As someone who lives in BC, it’s never too late my friend. It’s surely much nicer climate wise out here than over there too. I was in shorts today😎
P.S.- I hope you’ve recovered from that accident.
The most stressful thing about using a paper map was folding that darn thing back up
Paper maps were fun. Sitting and planning the next day's trip.
I still have maps. The backroad maps of western Canada, Central and the Maritimes. Map services don't always work. And I like to highlight where I've been. I have been coast to coast several times and what a beautiful country we live in.
Haha so true.
The trick is to fold back and forth like an accordion.
Actually the most stressful thing about paper maps was watching the "navigator" rotate the map, guaranteeing that you got lost.
My sister and I drove truck and we have driven across Canada many times. We left St. Johns Newfoundland on Friday morning and we were in Vancouver the next Friday. We also drove the Alaska hwy. From Edmonton to Whitehorse Yukon many times. Now that hwy is very scenic, absolutely beautiful.
I'm curious. When was the last time you drove from NL to BC and how much did the gas cost? (ballpark)
Only place in Canada I haven’t been to is Newfoundland. I’ve run the TCH, Yellowhead, Alaska, Mackenzie, Klondike and Dempster Highways
@@michaellima6272 we were in a semi truck with a 53' trailer loaded. So it was diesel that we used, and it cost us about $2500. And it was 6 years ago.
@@merritttrucker We drove all of those hwys also, numerous times. A lot to see in this great big country for sure.
We did the Alaskan Hwy as well a few years ago. We then continued north to Dawson city where we drove over the Top of the World highway between Dawson and Chicken Alaska. That was an amazing driving literally on the top of mountains. Even crossing the border was on a mountain.
I live in Calgary and have driven the stretch of highway from here to Banff (and further west) countless times, and let me tell you that I STILL am in awe of how beautiful the scenery is every time I drive through
Take it the opposite way and you'll be mind blown by the change in that road the second you hit Saskatchewan Berta does road work so good
Same!
sameee
It's so far south because most of the Canadian population lives within 150 km of the US border.
@@joeydepalmer4457 the train tracks are still there... lol
@joeydepalmer4457 that's true too. The train tracks and population go hand in hand, I think, loll.
@@joeydepalmer4457 Even the railway had to change routes and stay close to the boarder. I live in Manitoba, where the tracks made a sudden detour from East Selkirk to Winnipeg before crossing the Red River. That detour is now a foot/cycle trail since it was replaced by the Molson bypass.
@@joeydepalmer4457while that may be true, consider why. Southern Canada has the most temperate climate. Settlers coming to Quebec and Ontario in the 17th and 18th Centuries had the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes for travel. When the Can gov't built the railroad, it was easier to build in a more temperate climate, one where immigrants could farm to populate the praries and connect BC's population with the Confederate provinces so that BC wouldn't choose to join America (yes, that was a thing. BC's condition to join Canada was a rail link to the East.)
The population near the railroad was by design, not strictly convenience for those who arrived.
Its not to live close to the USA mostly. It's because of the weather. Not many people want to live in -32 degree weather close to animals in the Canadian Shield, a forest spanning about a third of Canada.
yeah, the wildlife bridges are cool! and they work! each side of the highway is fenced so they cannot cross in-between the bridges. it saves so many animals each year.
They planted these animal overpasses to offer protection and hides for any animal crossing. So many predator animals.
I would imagine it didn't just save animal lives, but human lives as well, because if you've ever seen whats left after a mini van hits an adult moose, you'll understand why. The bridges or underpasses also help connect pockets of species. Some species can't/won't cross the highway, so the under/over passes offer safe passage for breeding as well (I might not have explained that part very well, but I'm hoping the intended genetic diversity part comes through).
The Kicking Horse pass is unbelievable. 4 lanes through that canyon!
Driven that many times, don't get distracted or you may be airborne. 😮
@@ninemoonplanetThe giant bridge terrifies me I remember driving the old highway when they building it and from below it was an incredible sight.
so true the scenery is so wonderful its dangerous. Year ago on the number one highway out of Vancouver to Horseshoe bay they had to put big walls along the way. This was to prevent people looking down to the harbour of Vancouver and city lights. So many accidents from gawking down there..
I drove from Vancouver to Halifax. You mostly don't need GPS because as long as it says 1 east you're going the right way
But it isn't numbered 1 all the way across.
Its also signed as other numbers. In Ontario there is the Highway 17 signage along King's Highway 17 and Highway 12 signage along King's Highway 12, and don't forget the most developed part of the Highway being along the Highway 417 signage in the Ottawa area.
@@ALuimes It isn't? I took a roadtrip from Vancouver to Manitoba and it was 1 all the way across but people might think it's not since it's generally more efficient to take the coquihalla from hope to kamloops than to stay on 1 the whole way (though I stayed on 1 the whole way anyway when I did it). I suspect there are other parts where it's more direct to get off the highway to take another one for portions of it?
@@ALuimes especially when you get into ontario from manitoba
We also have the Trans Canada Trail that spans most of the nation, both by trail and by water routes in some areas..
I walk my dog on it daily! It's about 4 blocks from me.
Excellent use of a lot of abandoned railroad segments
We live right ON the Trans Canada Trail. If you Google Trans Canada Trail you will find their website with these interesting things called 'FACTS'.
I lived in Lac Delage, QC, a tiny, cul-de-sac village(pop +-700)near Stoneham, about a half hour north of Quebec City, for 20 years.
Imagine my surprise when the Trans Canada trail was being set up to see the sign one day when I went for a walk!
I live in Winnipeg (geographic center of Canada) and I have driven the Trans-Canada Highway coast to coast two and a half times. As a 6 year old my family vacationed from Winnipeg to Newfoundland, taking in EXPO 67 along the way and back to Winnipeg. As an adult, I have driven from Winnipeg to Montreal and back and driven from Winnipeg to Vancouver Island and back, twice. Canada is vast, but 90% of the population lives within 100 miles of the U.S. border.
I remember arriving in Winnipeg, having driven east for three days, only to see a sign reading "Welcome to Western Canada" - seemed a little strange.
Don't forget that B.C. joined Canada when the railway reached that far in 1871 - so there was a way to travel across Canada before the highway was built.
BC also joined Confederation based on the railways maintaining passenger and freight rail on Vancouver Island; both activities ceased decades ago...so BC can secede from Canada at any time of its choosing.
@@jasonarthurs3885They even tore down the Victoria station and the rail bridge across the harbour narrows.
@@jasonarthurs3885BC is not AB-- they don't want to secede.
@@elinebrock5660 never claimed they did; just pointing out that they have the option.
But don’t look into how that railroad was built 🥶
20 times from Vancouver to Montreal and 3 times from Victoria to New Brunswick! Beautiful country!!
Tyler, you should have a look at the Canadian railroad story... Pierre Burton's The Last Spike and Gordon Lightfoot's The Canadian Railroad Trilogy... that should pique your interest... and they accomplished this feat well before the idea of the Trans-Canada was even sparked.
"There was a time in this fair land when the railroad did not run
When the wild majestic mountains stood alone against the sun"
There is even a heritage minute about the rails.
@@Salicat99 I believe Tyler has already reviewed that one... the CP rail... Nitro. 1880's
@@CanadianSmoke did I somehow miss that one?!?
@@Salicat99 I think it was a few weeks ago.
The first time I ever drove was on the Trans-Can on psilocybin just outside of Truro, Nova Scotia. I remember my buddy saying, "You're a pretty good driver, how long have you been driving?"
I looked at my watch and said, "Eighteen minutes." And that was the last time I drove... in Nova Scotia.
Now THAT'S funny!!...
"18 minutes ... and still haven't found my way out of the driveway."
My home town lol 😂😂😂
Gold buddy... F'n Gold! 😂🤣🤣
Not to forget, the hwy isn’t just one unconnected road; the Pacific and Atlantic coasts where the the hwy starts/ends are islands so travellers have to travel via ferry and the hwy continues when they disembark.
In that case it is one "unconnected" road.
@@senhowler True, but the ferries are regarded as parts of the highway.
Even discounting those ends, that doesn't add in a huge amount of road to travel in the grand scheme of things.
My Grandfather was in the Canadian military, was assigned to put the repeater stations along the Alaska Highway. It was kept "top secret" for years until after WW2 was over.
The heavy machinery was not brought back to the yard but buried on site wherever it broke down. There are likely quite a few still there, rusted.
I love travelling through the mountains, especially when you come around a corner and your breath is taken away by its beauty.
I've travelled about 90% of the Trans Canada Highway when I was much younger with my parents and hitch hiked from Toronto to Van with much of the trip along the Trans Canada Hwy. Some of the most beautiful aspects of Canada's terrain can be found along this hwy.
Roads are a provincial responsibility. That's why the federal government offered money to each province to get the work done. The only exception as they mentioned is national parks, which are federally owned.
Paper maps were fairly easy to use. We were used to them. Actually, it was hard to make the transition to GPS and the like bc of what you were used to using efficiently.
I remember when we would go on family trips to jasper or BC … each of us “older kids/ teens “ would have a map and we would keep track of where we were on the map.. now days I. Still keep track but using a digital map on my phone or iPad
I still have a road map showing Banff to the Shuswap Lake area where Hwy 1 included what was called the "Big Bend." This was before the Rogers Pass section of Hwy 1 was built. We drove that route a few times when I was a kid. Beautiful country, now all under water. I still prefer paper maps. Provincial 'Base Maps' were very detailed (included things like the Forestry Trunk Roads) and not very expensive for many years. I kept them all; they're more difficult to get these days.
@@flyingbeaver57Even from maps you can see how geography has changed. Great keepsakes!
Paper maps are very valuable. I still love using them when I can find an up-to-date accurate one of the area I will be travelling in.
I live in Vancouver, and my family lives in Ontario. I think people should do the Trans Can at least once in their lives. However, if I drive back to Toronto, I've done it a few times, I head south into Washington state, then turn left on I90 and straight to Buffalo. This route is for those who prefer easy access to gas, food, hotels, and human beings.
No shortage of any of those things on the trans-canada. Avoiding the 90km speed limit all the way across Ontario is worth it though.
I'm to impatient... Live in SA here in the Interior. but I always fly outs either Kelowna or Edmonton to Toronto or London... I think the most I've actually drove on it was from The island to Edmonton. One day I do wanna do the whole thing though.
At least its numbered 90 all the way across. The different numbers and branches of the TCH seem bogus to me as a so-called transcontinental national route.
I grew up in the Vancouver area but moved to Onartio so did the drive a couple times for family functions. Never did the US route as I had family and friends dotted along the Trans Canada.
@@alanj9978don't kid yourself. You can drive for hundreds of km between gas stations and motels across Ontario. Especially can be hard on long weekends.
I've driven coast to coast over 25 times...great scenic drive.
The best part is between Ottawa and Winnipeg in northern Ontario.
Amen - ➡️ Ottawa, Sudbury, Saulte St Marie, Wawa, Thunder Bay, Dryden, Kenora, Winnipeg ➡️
Best memories i have are from driving through along on this highway... great times and crazy stories. 😊
Just don't stop for an outdoor picnic in May or June. You will feed more blackflies than you feed yourself!
Paper maps and a good memory continue to be my preferred tools for driving or walking anywhere. Too many of my acquantances have told me tales of their GPS systems directing them on wild goose chases. Some places in Canada, East Africa, and Australia - where I fairly regularly drive - still aren't covered by GPS anyway.
@t.a.k.palfrey3882 - You learn more geography using a paper map. I've traveled in all 50 states of the USA with only paper maps. I don't even know how to turn on my car's GPS.
I mostly navigate by just looking up my route before I set off and of course I have navigation on my smartphone if I need it but I still keep a road atlas in the car just in case. You never know when there might be a major road closure and plotting a new route on the fly by hand might save you a lot of hassle and traffic over following the crowd going by the detour signs.
I travelled the highway from bc to nl in 2013, it was awesome !!!
Oooh nice! I've done BC to Quebec. So many places left to see!
Reminds me of when I was a teen and a friend of mine worked in a gas station in southern Ontario. In the middle of July, American tourists would come with skiing gear, asking where the snow was! His reply? Take this road north until you see a sign for the Trans Canada Highway. Make a left. In a few days you will see some mountains, they have snow on them.
If they followed his advice, they'd actually end up in Penetanguishene and could go no further west.
@ALuimes Hahaha haha, well Penetanguishene is nice!
I've ridden every foot of the Trans-Canada highway on my Harleys over the years . From ocean to ocean , I loved every minute of it . Such a beautiful country with great people . Makes me proud to say " I am Canadian ."
The railroad was built across Canada first in 1885
have travelled cross country on numerous occasions, from Québec City to Vancouver and back, via Highway 1, the Trans Canadian highway, the longest stretch was northern Ontario. Going through the Rockies was a natural delight!
"the longest stretch was northern Ontario" and thats the stretch that is the only part thats a DIVIDED HIGHWAY & you need to wait for a PASSING LANE before you can pass...although Ontario is the ONLY PROVINCE where passing on the double-yellow line is LEGAL!!
Wait a second what!?! Passing on a _Double_ yellow is legal there?
you CAN NOT pass on a double line anywhere in Ontario! HWY 17 through northern Ontario is mostly single lane, there are passing lanes from west of Arnprior to the Manitoba border. @@dopeytripod
It's Highway 17 in Ontario. It doesn't become #1 until you cross into Manitoba.
The highway does not end in Vancouver , it goes to Victoria on Vancouver Island
Last summer I used the Trans Canada Highway, to get from my small city of Welland Ontario, to visit family up in Sault Ste Marie, it was such a beautiful long drive, had to make a pit stop or 2, but it was incredible, totally worth the 8 hour drive!
Leaving the GTA my first stop was the Soo. Second day I got to Thunder Bay. Third day I finally got out of Ontario 😂 and all the way to Regina.
We also have a hiking /biking trail that goes through all our national parks and provinces we’re still working on it
Travelling from BC to Sask over the decades it does make things a lot easier. With it going through major cities helps. It’s more difficult to get to the Northren part of some Province’s since going from south to North isn’t as simple. Even the last time I went through the Kicking Horse Pass there was construction to make the highway bigger and safer. It’s not so much a white knuckle drive like it once was. It is beautiful during anytime of the year but if you do it in the winter make sure you have experience driving in winter conditions. It’s a great time.
The first time we drove through that mountain pass was during a blizzard in 1989. Now I understand why the people in Saskatchewan thought we were crazy..ok they were very polite to us with just asking us if we had ever driven through the mountains. We didn’t even know we needed tire chains. I thought we were going to die. Signs warning of wildlife but also saying don’t stop “avalanche” area and don’t even get me started about those emergency runoff roads in case of brake failure. I’ve been through there again and it’s not as scary as that first time.
The reason the Trans Canada Hwy (HWY 1) runs across the southern part of the country is because that's where the people are. There are other highways that branch off. There are lots of secondary and tertiary highways.
IIRC something like 90% of Canada's population lives within 150 km of the US border.
The most important branch is HWY 16, the Yellowhead Highway, which takes a more northerly route from Winnipeg to Prince Rupert, via Saskatoon, Edmonton, and Jasper.
The TCH doesn't even go through where most of the people are: Southern Ontario.
James Topp, ex military man, after the truckers convoy, walked from Vancouver BC to Ottawa Ontario, took him 3 months, then he went to east coast NFLD and walked back to Ottawa. Completely covered Trans Canada Highway. There are videos of his journey.
I'm from Long Island and New York State, and I'm going to Montreal, Quebec in June. So, I'm interested in watching this for my mom to take to Montreal, Quebec for my trip.
You should go to Québec City too ! :) Really beautiful and architectural city. The oldest in North America !
Don't drive through northern Ontario, a long bush road, go through the interstate system coming north into Manitoba. If you going out west take highway16, or the yellowhead, to Edmonton and Jasper. You will love the park drive between Jasper and Lake Lousie. You can't miss Banff or Calgary, mount Allan. There is lots to see. Too, much for here. Flying is the best way coming from Vancover to the interior in many ways. Hot springs, mountian lakes and some real remote areas like New Denver.
I-87 through Lake Placid has great scenery. It is very close to Montreal.
You will not need much of the Trans Canada unless you take the very long way through Maine.
Personally I could forego anything east to Toronto. Have various reasons. The west is a different breath of fresh air. The prairies, you have no idea how long, flat and boring they are. I found that for every hour or two I was on them my foot got 5 miles an hour heavier until little did I know I was going 100 mph. I use cruise now. Do a study on Logan pass. White fish Montana going north into Canada to Radium, that is very beautiful
If your heading to MTL from NY you will cross at the Jacques Cartier bridge. It can be very stressful driving in MTL if your not used to it. I suggest taking the train from NY, then taxi and subway when there.
It certainly is a beautiful trip west of Calgary. Yellowhead west through Jasper and meeting with transCanada and continuing through Banft, to the coast.... beautiful absolutely loveley drive.
Like the Interstate Highway system in the States and the Transcontinental Rail links, the TCH was designed to link and unite Canada from Coast to Coast.
As you noted, some spurs were needed to reach some areas (like PEI) and it does weave a bit here and there.
The Provinces were able to pick where the TCH would route through them, and often ended up picking existing roads many times. In New Brunswick before the current highway was finished, I remember the TCH routing between Fredericton and Moncton would reach various intersections and side roads through the middle of the province.
The Provinces will also maintain their own highway network to meet their local needs. Note that the second most famous highway in Canada (The 401 from Windsor to Montreal basically) is NOT a part of the Trans Canada Highway. In fact, Toronto and Halifax are the only two provincial Capitals that are NOT on the TCH. (But are linked to it with 4-lane divided highways)
The TCH itself is not a full 4-lane divided highway like the Interstates are. While in many regions it is twinned, in many more areas it's still 2 lane highways, especially in Northern Ontario, Newfoundland, Cape Breton Island and in many sections of BC. (Usually it isn't twinned due to lack of traffic or terrain difficulties).
In Northern Ontario, there is 1 bridge (The Nipigon bridge) that is where ALL roads from the east meet ALL roads from the west. There is a single bridge that you have to use if you are going across Canada.
New Brunswick may be one of the few provinces that has a full 4-lane divided highway for the TCH (Saskatchewan may also be fully divided but I'm not sure). Quebec is ALMOST fully divided, but there is a 80km stretch near the New Brunswick border that hasn't been done yet; it should be complete in a few more years.
Edmonton is the capital of Alberta and it is on the #2 hwy, Calgary has the TCH running through it, but it is not the capital.
A national highway that avoids provincial capitals (and nationally-significant places like Niagara Falls, etc.) can hardly be said to unite the country though. Also, the busiest provincial boundary by far traffic-wise isn't even on the TCH. A general multi-route national highway system (as opposed to transcontinental-only) would avoid this.
in my teens I hitchhiked the entire trans canada highway, made lots of stops to work at places to experience areas
I still miss old hometown train running through around 4 am and whistling.... now we have trucks and highways galore.... but still, kinda miss the train.
To me the most interesting part about the trans-canada highway is that in the Prarie provinces they purposely made the road bend and curve to help keep drivers awake on what would normally be a very straight road
Next week: Canadian National Railway..
Or the Canada Pacific Railway
That’s a good story because BC yet again gave the railway worker lots of trouble because of the mountains lots of tunnels and switch backs. I believe both ends met in Alberta or Saskatchewan I can’t remember.
@@ryans413 They met at Craigellachie, British Columbia.
Has a true Canadian I have travelled across Canada on the trans Canada highway twice. Once was back in 1981 moving out west to Alberta from Halifax I was merely 11 years old then the second time. Back in 1986 I moved to my home province where I was 16. I travelled by greyhound buses for both trips. It toke about 7 days on each trip. I meet all of nice people. I did both trips on my own with any parents or adults with me. It was fun, it’s the only way to travel across country is by bus or car/vehicle. Lots of love from Canada
And there is no more Greyhound in Canada. Replaced by a fractured network of regional lines. There is no single bus from coast to coast anymore. Even VIA requires three trains for the journey.
I have driven it from end to end 8 times, in all kinds of weather. We call it the Trans Canada Sideroad.
Who is "we"?
Canadians
Never heard it called that. Are you a newfie?
@@jakhamar55whats a newfie?
@@blessedveteran a newfie is someone who comes from newfoundland which is waaaay to the east a few thousand miles away. They seem to have their own language and are hard to understand but all in all are decent people.
I know you have done a previous post about the Canadian Shield. In this post about the trans-canada highway you wondered why the highway was positioned where it was. The answer is the designers were aware of the cost of blasting in the Canadian Shield in Ontario and Quebec. The highway begins in the maritimes on the East Coast and as they traveled Westward they moved southerly to avoid the Canadian Shield while conforming to the North Shores of the Great Lakes. West of Manitoba there were Prairie Provinces, and the terrain was soil until you get to the foothills of the Rockies which are in Alberta. I found this informative enough to share it with my Canadian followers.
I believe the railroad was created before dynamite was invented, so that made it extra fun with them using nitroglycerin to blow up the Canadian Shield to get the railroad across the entire nation.
Hi Tyler. My family and I , back in 1977, travelled the Trans Canada Hwy from Ontario to Vancouver BC. Loved it!
I have driven the Trans Canada highway quite a few times and also been end-to-end. Some parts are better than others. Not all of it is a 4 lane highway and some provinces are better than others maintaining it.
3:43 The TransCanada is so far South because practically 90% of the population of Canada lives within 200km of the border. Above that area, you get into just work towns focused only on trades. and Yes, there is a wild interconnected series of highways connecting it all to the TransCanada.
We live in Hornepayne, On which is half way between Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie, On and we travel sections of it regularly. Winter time can be treacherous and the weather can change within minutes. Beautiful scenery though! And our 2 railroads (CN and CP) run along it here and there. CP runs closer to it while CN runs more North of it but lots of transporting gets done all ways. A few years back, the province of Ontario built a new bridge at Nipigon and the first cold winter, it broke which shut down the highway for some time! You want a real good scenery trip, check out Agawa Canyon Tour Train in Autumn in Sault. Ste. Marie, ON! Fall colours on the trees is amazing!
As a child, my father worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway. When we went anywhere we went by train. My parents did not even own a car until I was a teenager. When we went anywhere out of the city, we took the Calgary transit bus to the CPR station and caught a train to a picnic in Banff . The Dominion Passenger Train westbound left Calgary each morning and the Canadian Passenger Train Eastbound stopped in Banff in the late afternoon to take us back to Calgary. Trains also took us to visit family in Spokane Washington, Salt Lake City, Utah, Alberta, Manitoba,or Ontario. By age 12 I had been from Victory BC to Digby, Nova Scotia by train..
My first real airplane trip was when I was 19 when The Church of Jesus Christ of LatterDay Saints sent me to Italy to serve a mission.
Been fortunate enough to have driven pretty much the entire length of the TCA. Ventured north last year and drove return from Ontario to Tuktoyuktuk on the Arctic Ocean via the Dempster Highway. We have a beautiful country that, I believe, is under appreciated by too many. Nice video, Tyler.
Actually, it goes across the Inside Passagefrom Vancouver to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, down the Island Hwy and terminates at the ocean in Victoria. There is a large marker there. The highway tracks the southern border because that's where the bulk of the population lives. It basically linked a number of provincial hwys together and there are offshoots that go north to population areas in the territories.
I've driven the entire Trans Canada. Some sections have been driven several times as I love to road trip on my motorcycle. The views are jaw-dropping and worth return visits over and over.
Tyler ! I have driven from west to east once . And hitch hiked in the same direction once .I made the trip by train 3 times . I have enjoyed
every moment of it . I liked the Hitch hike the best .
Canada had possibly the largest transportation system in the world in the late 19th-early 20th Centuries, with the Canadian Pacific Railway.
After establishing the rail system from the Atlantic to the Pacific, with a string of Grand Railway Hotels, they created a fleet of steamships on the Atlantic and the Pacific. You could travel from London to Hong Kong without enduring the arduous trip around Cape Horn. A number of those ships sank beneath the waves due to uBoat action.
CP also hired some Swiss people to settle in Banff to encourage mountaineering and skiing to Canadians. They built a traditional Swiss mountain village for them - Edelweiss Village.
There are other highways in Canada. One of the longest is in Western Canada, the Yellowhead Highway, which runs from Winnipeg west to the Pacific at Prince Rupert.
Canadian here…My Uncle worked on the Alaska Highway from Fort Nelson BC, as a grater operator.
Very interesting on the beginnings of the highway and how it shaped our countries direction. Didn’t know that!
I grew up in Canmore Alberta just east of Banff. And I remember the building of the highway because it was visible from our home on the edge of town. And then I drove that highway every day when I worked in Banff. Yes, it is a spectacular place. Yep you can hop on the trans Canada and head east or west until you run into ocean😀 people have not only driven the trans Canada highway. They have bicycled across it. And run across it.
I still use my physical map.
Hi Tyler, just watched your video about the Trans Canada....I have travelled the full length of the Trans Canada. It's amazing to to travel this country,even for Canadians. Loved the video.
The TransCanada only gives you a glimpse of the country's southern strip. The REALLY amazing places are further north where it's still wilderness.
Tyler, you should check out the Red Coat Trail. It's a highway across the prairie provinces and into BC. Also known as Highway #3. It is further south than the Trans Canada. It is built on a trail that RCMP would ride on their horses to patrol the Canadian and US border to keep them pesky Americans out. So many interesting things along that highway.
Yes, Tyler, we can get most places on a highway! It’s a little tougher in the far North, because of the perma frost; not just the Alaska Highway, but the Dempster, and MacKenzie Highway. You need to do a segment on ice roads.
I agree on the Ice Roads. Danger always lurks among those roads, especially with Truckers, knowledge is key before driving them.
You have to remember that every winter construction would grind to a halt. Quebec probably took longer to sign on because they were whining that somehow it was not fair to them.
As a native canadian, I have driven the trans-canada highway many many times January from Saskatchewan to British Columbia which is about 1800 Mi or from Saskatchewan to Ontario which is probably another 1800 miles. I can also attest to the fact that there are hundreds if not thousands of secondary highways leading off in all directions North South East and West that will get you to towns and cities all over the country.
My father, my sister and I drove the Trans Canada Highway, and the Alaskan Highway 27 years ago, took 3 months to do as as we camped along the whole route. Was definately a trip I will never forget.
Fun fact: this highway in certain sections is only a single lane and there are no other routes. 100% of the transport traffic that goes from east to west, west to east is bottlenecked down to a single lane! When the bridge crossing the Nipigon River failed (about a decade ago) the world's second largest country was cut in half. I can be a death trap in NW Ontario, many people die in accidents because everyone from slow campers and tourists to speeders in a hurry to transport trucks are forced to drive in tight spaces around bedrock, swamps and lakes without safe passing lanes.
I used to live on the north Shore of Lake Superior. A lot of people don't realize that there's only one place that connects Eastern and Western Canada by road. The Nipigon River Bridge.
I recall hearing at one time the government was debating whether or not they even wanted to complete the highway in Northwestern Ontario..
When I was a teenager our family drove the TCH in 2 installments... 1974 from Halifax, NS to St. John's NL Then in 1976 from Halifax, NS to Victoria, BC. A great way to see the country. Since then I have driven the eastward portion from Ottawa to Halifax dozens of times, and a few times as far as St John's. Westward, we have drive from Ottawa to Alberta half a dozen times... a "short" 3600km across some quite isolated areas in northern Ontario (we have done it in every season) ... and we have driven from Alberta to Victoria a few times also. It is a wonderful, spectacular journey.
There are several TCH's including spurs and beltways around regions. It starts just north of St. John's NL by Logy Bay. It does not reach the Ocean. It used to start at the western tip of St. John's Harbour and then along Kenmount Road to the present alignment. It's called NL-1 and is freeway in this area. up to KM-28, curves North to Gander and west to Deer Lake and south to Stephenville and Port aux Basques. The only other section of Freeway of any length is between Marble Mountain and Corner Brook (Deer Lake). The Marine Atlantic ferry is part of the provided TCH for NL.
It starts Again at North Sydney NS. As NS-105 going down the middle of Cape Breton Island by Baddeck and Bras d'Or Lake the site of the first Empire powered flight, on skis, flown by J.A.D McCurdy and crosses onto the NS mainland at Port Hawkesbury and the Canso Causeway were it becomes NS-104. The highway becomes Freeway at Antigonish and Proceeds as much to the NB border. The major towns are Trenton-New Glasgow, Truro and Amherst with a spur NS-106 at Trenton to a ferry to PEI. This route misses Halifax which is served by NS-102 that is not part of the TCH. The former alignment called the Wentworth Valley Highway is now NS-4 and was and is two lane. This is between Debert and Oxford NS. The New alignment is Tolled.
From Amherst it crosses into NB near Sackville NB where it becomes NB-2 TCH. It remains Freeway. It passes by Moncton, Fredericton, Woodstock and exits by Edmunston missing Saint John, which is serviced by NB-1 Not TCH. PEI is Accessed by NB-15 and NB 16 both TCH to the Confederation bridge from Moncton and Sackville respectively. Woodstock accesses I-95 by NB-95 to Houlton ME.
North of Edmunston it becomes A-85 TCH in Quebec heading up to Riviere-du-Loup. There it curves onto A-20 towards the west, along the south shore of the St-Lawrence, by Quebec City (serviced by A-73), past Drummondville heading towards Montreal. Where it meets A-25 at the Lafontaine Tunnel. This area is what I call the Mainline. A-25 to A-40 west to ON-417. All freeway( Autoroute). There is an alternate route: continuing onto A-20 at the tunnel Onto the Champlain Bridge and A-15 and picking up A-40 from the interchange. Just east of that interchange A-15 resumes North as the TCH spur is the A-15, QC-117 crossing to ON- and the northern arc of ON-11 TCH. Mostly two lane.
The mainline continues in Ontario as the ON-417TCH at Pointe-aux Cascades QC ByPassing Hawkesbury ON and Casselman, through Ottawa where another spur, ON-7, branches off at Stittsville and then continues on to Arnprior, where it continues on as a two lane ON-17 and the freeway stops. At North Bay it intersect with ON-11TCH which is the start of the northern spur in Ontario. It is Freeway through the town with it's concurrency with ON-11TCH. It then hits Sudbury where there is a bypass south of town where it meets with another spurt ON-69TCH toward Toronto. It then continues on towards Sault Ste-Marie with portions that are Expressway.
The TCH was not finished in Newfoundland until 1965 the saying was FINISH THE DRIVE IN 65.The first vehicle to drive across Newfoundland was a Land Rover
This is the modern equivalent of building the Canadian Pacific Railway back in the 1870's. A truly major and expensive project so soon after WW II. The length of the highway as shown on your map is approximately 7,500 km - but if the various loops are included it almost doubles the total length. The Canadian constitution stipulates that the provinces have jurisdiction over the road systems so there had to be a lot of co-operation between the federal government and the 10 provinces. Still today the federal government contributes to the maintenance and up-grades of the T-Can. (BTW - the video is really quite old. There are others more up-to-date .)
To answer your question about other highways in Canada, the trans canada is the main federal highway, the 2nd longest (I think) is the yellowhead highway (hwy 16) which branches off from the trans canada in Manitoba and then goes northwest all the way to Prince Rupert in northern BC.
The provinces all have their own provincial highway system like the 400 series highways in Ontario. Most of the provinces just have a basic numbering system for their inter province highways like highway 97 and highway 5 in BC which is the main north/south roads.
This was all possible because of the newly formed Bank Of Canada formed in 1938 . The bank was a non-profit bank owned by the people , not a privately owned bank of profit. The difference is that any profit, over and above, operational costs, went straight into general revenue, and spent back into the economy, which off-set taxes and raised the standard of living. You see the people are the owners and shareholders of The Bank Of Canada. The Bank was demoted in 1974 to a regulatory role for all the wrong reasons. The bank being owned by the people means, it can access the equity of Canada, and give interest free loans to the provinces for infrastructure projects. That bank payed for the second world war and the St. Laurence sea-way as well. We need to reinstate that bank . Just ask any economics professor.
The Yellowhead Highway, although much shorter than the Trans-Canada Highway, runs from Masset, BC to Portage la Prarie, MB. It's essentially a more northern version of the Trans-Canada (until it meets with it) and goes through different scenery and landmarks, as well as going through Edmonton.
The Yellow Head is a better way to access British Columbia , I’ve driven both many times . The Highway 16 is direct line to a saltwater port at Prince Rupert . 👍🇨🇦
You asked if anyone has ever driven the entire TransCanada Highway coast to coast, the answer is definitely YES. I have done it many times in a car and just last year in 2023 on a motorcycle. BEAUTIFUL country landscape wise.
I grew up in the Vancouver BC area, and moved one province over to Alberta. My parents still live in BC so we try to make the ~11 hour drive once a year.
As such, in this section of Hwy 1, there are two items to note:
In the interior of BC between Kamloops and Hope, the Coquihalla Hwy was built as a faster alternative to Hwy 1. Most traffic uses the Coquihalla these days.
In Alberta, Hwy 1 runs through the middle of Calgary, slowing down to 60km/h (40mph) with many traffic lights along the way (making it not much of a highway). Recently, within the past 10 years, a ring road around Calgary called Stoney Trail was built to bypass the city.
Tyler, the reason we have wildlife overpasses (many in Alberta and B.C. for example) is not primarily to "be kind to animals" but to give animals, particularly big ones, a path that does not cross paths with vehicles. For example, a moose may weigh close on a ton, and has long legs. If you're tooling down the road at 60 mph, and you come upon a moose crossing, or just standing in the road, hitting it will kill or maim the travelers and destroy the vehicle. It's not so good for the moose, either. Finding more common animals such as deer or mountain sheep crossing the highway at night can be very scary.
There are also areas in Alberta & B.C. - like Hwy 16 east of Jasper National Park or Hwy 1 east of Banff, where wildlife will congregate at the roadside, and tourists frequently slow to a crawl, or stop to take pictures. They'll even get out and (seriously) try to feed or even pat the wild animals. Not only is human contact bad for the animals (especially if they find a preferred feeding spot alongside the highway), but it creates massive traffic jams (the Park Wardens in Jasper call them "Bear Jams," bears being the most common animal that come near the highways (Hwys 16 & 93). They're not afraid of humans, and are one of the most dangerous to tourists). For some reason visitors from places that do not have wildlife that will attack you, or think you'd make a good lunch simply don't understand that wild animals can be dangerous, one way or another. It's an ongoing problem.
Travelling on the highway we saw the wildlife bridges but a bighorn sheep didn't and crossed in front of our car. He was so close he could have taken the paint off the front of our car. We were absolutely shaken at what could have been.
Lots of Canadians use the trans canada highway. It runs through my city.
I use it to visit family up north.
Lots of parks, trails and picnic stops along the way.
The highway along lake superior is amazing
My wife and I drove across the country from Vancouver to Cape Breton Island two summers ago. It was a great trip, but we spent alot of it off the Trans-Canada, because there are really great places to see that are on some of the other more local highways. Grasslands Provincial Park in Southern Saskatchewan, which is really amazing. We walked on the ground where Sitting Bull and his people lived while trying to escape the US army after Little Big Horn. We took a more southerly route to Winnipeg, and then back on the TransCanada for the seemingly endless journey across Ontario. Then we left it again to go out around Gaspe, and then down the East coast of New Brunswick toward Halifax.
it was a really great trip. You should try it some time, Tyler, or part of it at least.
You should look into it, a few years back they installed a new bridge called the Nipigon River bridge. It's located in the northern ontatio section of the trans canada highway. The new bridge had mechanical issues. This ended up shutting down the link between western Canada and eastern Canada, and for a time no one could go west or east. Pretty much cutting the country off since it's the only road that goes in some parts of the country
South park said it best.
"Just follow the road"
"What road?"
"This is Canada, we only have one road!"
Easily my favorite episode.
Hey tyler. If you think the trans-canada highway was an exciting adventure, if you haven't already, look into the building of the Canadian Pacific Railroad built from coast to coast. It was an absolutely enormous undertaking and took thousands upon thousands of people to build. It was 1860 and was a joint venture of the Canadian government and the Canadian. It's also one of the reasons why there are tens of thousands of Chinese restaurants across the country. Because the government and the railroad company brought thousands of Chinese men to help in the construction of the road Pacific Railway company. It's an incredible story
"I wonder if anyone has driven the entire Trans-Canada Highway?"
I hitchhiked from Halifax to Vancouver. I will admit, I did not start in Newfoundland. But I did dip my toe in the Atlantic Ocean before I left. I departed on Sept 30 and arrived on Dec 5.
The federal governament provided moneys to each province to build their section of the highway. The federal government still provides funding to maintain and expand the highway. Originally, the highway was only two lanes, but today much of it is 4 lanes.
I drove from Toronto where I'd been for 8 yrs back to Vancouver (BC is home) in the 90s.
We went the end of March.
Took 2 days just to get out of Ontario.
Fantastic drive.
Ran into a major blizzard in Manitoba....they were closing the highways behind us, could not see a damn thing ahead of us, my friend drove the U-Haul while I pressed my face against the window and navigated by the painted line on the side of the highway....it was white....then it was yellow and I said, "Uh, we are driving down the wrong side of the highway now, so, back toward me, a little more, a little more..."😂
We found some tiny truck stop cafe in Elkhorn, Man. and tucked in between rigs for a windbreak wating until the thing opened almost 3 hours later at 05:00. I had two cats with me.....it was a wild trip.
Parts of Saskatchewan look like the scenery in a Flintstone's cartoon when Fred is driving....just keeps repeating...
Was so excited to see a mountain when we hit the far side of Alberta into B.C.
The trip was 5 nights.
1 km stretch of the only road out of my town has been under construction since 2018. I am sure they are paid by the hour
You asked if anyone has driven the entire length of the Trans Canada Highway (TCH), I’ve been close. Several times as a kid our family would drive from Vancouver to New Brunswick to visit my grandparents. Not all the way, but close. I knew a Newfi once, back when we all had paper licences, who drove all the way from St Johns to Vancouver right in the middle of the road, straddling the centre line and going about a hundred miles an hour. When the police finally pulled him over and asked why he was driving like that. He said, “I’m just following the directions on my licence. It says right here ‘tear along dotted line.’”
I live in a small town in Ontario where the Trans Canada runs right through it. Mostly truckers and people commuting to work use that road but it is the only main road from my town to North Bay. In the summer it's used by tourists and a lot of biker clubs/biker gangs
I'm a Canadian expat in Korea, from Southern Alberta. I've been away for several years and this video made me surprisingly homesick.
"TCH" SAFETY ! was by far the greatest achievement of the TCH project, more and more Canadians were traveling the country and needed a highway to do it safely. That was a very big wildlife overpass, they don't make them that big now. In that picture you can't see the fence on each side of the roadway that prevents animals and vehicles from interacting , the overpass connects the 2 fenced off animal areas.
It suprised me to learn the trans Canada was started years before the US interstate.
The U.S. already had a national highway network dating back to the 1920s. These two lane highways (one lane per direction) are known as "u.s. routes". The system still exists today.
Should also mention that when the t.c. was completed, it was almost entirely two lanes as well.
Only big cities have enough cars to make it worth building a highway through? That's both driving where the road is(near and between cities), and why it's so far south(re: the population distribution of Canada).
I absolute love and appreciate how you look at our country and the amazing highway we have to connect our country! Do it sometime, it will blow your mind! Thank you Tyler!👍🥰🇨🇦
I have driven both directions ages 16 and 18 (summer holiday) with a 23 ft house trailor. My family with me, of course. :) I loved driving right across Caada with all the different geographical features.
At about 5:35 you see the gravel road through the Fraser Canyon in BC. In 1942, my grandparents drove that route from Thunder Bay, Ontario with my mum, who was just a baby, all the way to Vancouver to relocate. Apparently they lost a wheel on that treacherous section through the canyon.
The section between Sudbury, Ontario and Winnipeg, Manitoba is spectacular as the view changes from kilometre to kilometre in both directions, as it hugs the north shore of lake Superior.
Yes, people drive from one end to the other, every day. Takes a few days to weeks depending where you stop, or don't stop, for breaks.
Provinces have their own rights and ideas but unlike Americans, we ALL want what's best for the whole of Canada. America is all me me me.