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Canadian Northern Railway Station Interior
Archives of Manitoba, Boissevain, Community Archives, 360.
CNoR had a very close relationship with the Manitoba government. In 1901, they negotiated the Manitoba Agreement whereby the CNoR would extend its Manitoba and Southeastern line from the Lake of the Woods through Fort Francis and northern Minnesota to Port Arthur providing Manitoba its long sought after second grain export route to the East and thus the means to fight the federal government's railway policies.
The Manitoba Agreement guaranteed the railway $20,000 a mile of construction bonds on the Ontario section (guaranteeing bonds for a railway in another province was highly unusual) in return for a fixed 10 cent a bushel freight rate on grain which were lower than the Crow's Nest Pass rates. Manitoba also got a 15% reduction on westbound commodities. These measures forced the CPR to reduce its freight rates to some extent as well. The result was that Manitoba had a distinct advantage over the rest of the West which lasted until 1955 - something the other Prairie provinces would vigorously oppose.
Lloyd Penner, “A History of Railroads in Manitoba” (Paper commissioned by the Transportation Heritage & Technology Centre), 2002, p. 24.
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CNoR Station
Archives of Manitoba, Boissevain, Community Archives, 360.
The CNoR was called the "farmer's friend" because its freight rates were lower than the Canadian Pacific’s and because of its willingness to go beyond the call of duty in providing good service. CNoR trains would stop to pick up passengers and freight not just at stations but almost anywhere along the line. CNoR is also reputed to have had a much happier relationship with its employees than did the CPR.
By 1908, the CNoR had reached the Pas, in Northern Manitoba. Along the way, the railway established sawmills and even farms to supply its construction crews with food and needed construction materials while providing work to local farmers and workers in the winter months.
Penner, “A History of Railroads in Manitoba” p. 24.
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