(The following column by David D. Watts appeared on The Edmonton Journal website on July 15.)
EDMONTON, Alberta — A high-speed rail link between Edmonton and Calgary is more than transportation. It is more than a convenience for our two largest cities. It’s more than economics, ecology or any of the other reasons given for the project. It is the future of the New Alberta.
The Alberta Corridor is the fastest-growing economic area in North America. It cuts from the U.S. border through Lethbridge, Calgary and intervening communities to the provincial capital, on to Fort McMurray and the oilsands and ultimately the territories. Reinforcing the centre of this arc with a rail line will create a new kind of community.
If sections north of Edmonton and south of Calgary are built by mid-century, Alberta will be a conduit linking Alaska and the Northwest Territories with the lower U.S. This was a role Canada played for Britain a century ago, in linking Europe and Asia. With steamers on Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and a rail portage between, Canadian Pacific became the passage explorers had sought and builders would later cut through Panama.
Alberta can play a similar role in linking the Arctic with the rest of the Americas. We have a rudimentary rail network in place. We have the resource base to justify sections of the line. And we have a dynamic, burgeoning population, ready to take on the challenge. All we lack is an overarching vision: one that can join the dots and give the whole a raison d’etre more embracing than the regional mega-projects we’ve excelled at so far.
This was the challenge Sir John A. Macdonald and the Fathers of Confederation faced in the dream of “Dominion from Sea to Sea.” The components of the Dominion had thought of themselves as Maritimers, British, French Canadians, Upper Canadians and British Columbians. Getting them to think in broader terms was difficult.
Even with construction of the CPR underway, they continued to think locally. British Columbians talked secession or striking a deal with the U.S. Ontarians asked “Why are we building this railway? Canada is here where we are, and that’s where the Government should focus.” Getting East and West to think of themselves as part of a larger whole was the challenge of the Canadian venture.
The parallel challenge of getting Albertans to think bigger must begin by linking our northern and southern halves, laying to rest old stereotypes that divide urban and rural, and redirecting energy that feeds intercity rivalries into an enterprise that involves us all. A corridor community that blends urban and rural offers possibilities not open to mega-cities.
Alberta has two examples of a corridor coming together. The merger of a string of towns into Crowsnest Pass municipality in 1979 created a longitudinal community. The County of Strathcona brings together a city and its hinterland: a mix of town and country, industrial and urban development and acreages. The third concern is still to be addressed: a community that comprises our two major cities.
Thanks to the politics of railways a century ago, Alberta and Saskatchewan are the only provinces with two major cities of comparable size. The other two western provinces, B.C. and Manitoba, are both dominated by a single metropolitan area. Ontario and Quebec are dominated by Toronto and Montreal. In three Atlantic provinces, the situation is similar.
The domination of a region by a single urban centre presents challenges to governance. While it gives cities the base for cultural activities and infrastructure, it accentuates the “we-they” division between rural and urban residents.
Alberta’s “we-they” sense is more complex. In addition to the urban-rural spread, there is the rivalry of Edmonton and Calgary. One third of the province’s population lives in each of these cities, the remaining third is spread between smaller cities, towns and rural areas.
Imagine a city of six million without urban sprawl. Spread between two major centres and interspersed with assorted farmland, towns and acreages. Served by an integrated system of local and high-speed transit connecting all major centres — universities, airports and government and business centres within two hours, outlying points within three. A single world-class orchestra. One star-studded opera company. One major league hockey franchise, one championship football team. Complementary research and educational facilities –all accessible through the corridor.
Calgarians can spend a day shopping at West Edmonton Mall and be home by nightfall. Edmontonians can visit the Calgary Zoo. The Glenbow and Royal
Alberta Museums are equally accessible to both, as are each other’s sporting and cultural events. Chambers of Commerce can focus on developing something original to add to the inter-urban mix, not simply countering an initiative because “the other guys did it.”
In 1936, the Canadian Pacific Railway launched a new intercity train that halved travel times in the Calgary-Edmonton corridor. Previously, local service — stopping at all towns en route — had taken all day. A train left Calgary at 8 in the morning, arrived at Red Deer at noon for a lunch stop and
continued north, arriving in Edmonton at the end of the working day.
CPR’s Chinook, a custom-built, lightweight, streamlined trainset introduced “high speed local” service: city centre to city centre in four and three-quarter hours — with 18 stops en route! Between stops, the Chinook reached 190 km/h. Passengers travelled in air-conditioned comfort — new at the time — with buffet service and first-class lounges. The train also carried mail and package express, a practice that continues in Britain, where courier companies buy space by consignment, save wear and tear on drivers, and reduce highway traffic.
An initiative by Alberta’s government to link our two major cities would leave a legacy. It could halt the decline of the Progressive Conservatives and show they have new vision. Launched by a government led by another party, it could assure their tenure for a decade.