Pacific scandal
Pacific scandal ( 1873 )A Canadian political scandal. British Columbia had entered the dominion of Canada in 1871 on the understanding that a trans-continental railway line would be built within ten years. In 1872 a contract for such a railway was awarded to a syndicate headed by Sir Hugh Alan , a banker, shipowner, and financial contributor to the Conservative Party. Following a general election in 1872 , the defeated Liberals accused the Prime Minister, John Macdonald , of having given the contract as a reward. Macdonald resigned and the contract was cancelled. The Conservatives were heavily defeated in a new election but the Canadian Pacific Railway was finally completed in 1885 .
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