Transportation and the British Columbia Economy

This gallery highlights transportation technology in British Columbia, and how it relates to the evolution of the province's economy.

British Columbia's geography is closely related to its development. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the north west coast of North American was very isolated.

Sailing ships at Victoria in the 1870s
A-03113
It could only be reached by a long sea voyage by sailing ships from Europe and eastern North America or by a long and arduous overland trip on foot, by horse and mostly by canoe on the rivers.

The fur traders arrived here first by ship to the coast and later by canoe and trail from the east. They had to import from great distances all their goods for survival and trading, and had to transport the furs out of the region by the same long and difficult routes.

The ability to exploit the resources of British Columbia depended on the technology available to extract and process the resources and on the transportation available to ship them out to world markets. Until the Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century the technology was limited.

The SS Beaver in Burrard Inlet, 1888
A-00009
Furs were valuable and easy to transport and the tall trees on the coast were much desired for ship masts, but the great wealth in the province's forest, mineral, oil and gas resources remained untapped. But the industrial revolution changed the world. Much of the technology that we use today had its beginning in the 1800s and it transformed the lives of people.

It changed how they communicated with each other, how they worked on farms, in factories, and in their homes. Everyone had to adapt to the new mechanised world.

CPR engine no. 3512,
approaching Rossland, 191-
F-05634
Steam power, the use of coal, iron and steel, and the development and expansion of railroads are some of the important accomplishments of the industrial age.

In British Columbia these developments made it possible and desirable to access the natural resources of the province. This also meant improvements in communications and transportation by land, sea, and air. Beginning with the gold rush in the 1860s, extending through the mining boom of the 1890s, and into the twentieth century British Columbia became one of the leading suppliers of primary resources. This was facilitated by an extensive transportation system of shipping, highways and railways.

        




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