0:00:02 > 0:00:08I have crossed the Atlantic to ride the railroads of North America
0:00:08 > 0:00:10with my faithful Appleton's guide.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14Published in the late 19th century,
0:00:14 > 0:00:19it will lead me to all that is magnificent, charming...
0:00:20 > 0:00:23..confusing, invigorating
0:00:23 > 0:00:26and wholesome in the United States and Canada.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32As I journey through this vast continent,
0:00:32 > 0:00:37I'll encounter revolutionaries and feminists, pilgrims and witches,
0:00:37 > 0:00:41and ride some of the oldest and most breathtaking railroads
0:00:41 > 0:00:43in the world.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13TANNOY ANNOUNCEMENTS IN FRENCH
0:01:33 > 0:01:35My rail journey in eastern Canada
0:01:35 > 0:01:39is concluding in the country's largest city, Toronto,
0:01:39 > 0:01:41which was thought to mean "meeting place"
0:01:41 > 0:01:44in the indigenous Huron language.
0:01:44 > 0:01:49From there, I'll investigate who's undermining the railway tracks.
0:01:49 > 0:01:54I'll received a royal welcome, jolt the financial markets into life,
0:01:54 > 0:02:01take a walk on the wild side, and be swept away by a song about a leaf.
0:02:05 > 0:02:10I'm nearing the end of a 1,000-mile North American railway adventure.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12I began on the New England coast
0:02:12 > 0:02:15before turning north towards the Canadian border.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18From French-speaking Montreal,
0:02:18 > 0:02:21I struck out towards the Canadian capital, Ottawa.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25Then followed the route of the 19th-century grand trunk railway
0:02:25 > 0:02:29along the shores of Lake Ontario towards Toronto.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35There, I'll enjoy the epitome of luxury.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38We do indeed save one very, very special thing
0:02:38 > 0:02:40for those very special VIP guests.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44Share in the success of Canada's financial capital.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46APPLAUSE, CHEERING
0:02:51 > 0:02:54And live life on the edge.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57Whoa!
0:02:57 > 0:02:59I'm leaning out of the tower
0:02:59 > 0:03:01and everything is just down there below me.
0:03:01 > 0:03:02Aargh!
0:03:08 > 0:03:12As I approach the final stop on this stimulating journey,
0:03:12 > 0:03:15I'm full of anticipation.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17Ladies and gentlemen, we will be arriving into Toronto,
0:03:17 > 0:03:20your next station, our final destination,
0:03:20 > 0:03:22in approximately five minutes.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25My guidebook is enthusiastic.
0:03:25 > 0:03:31"Toronto - the Queen's city, as we Canadians fondly call her -
0:03:31 > 0:03:34"slopes very gently from the lake's edge
0:03:34 > 0:03:38"back to the wooded line of Davenport Hills.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40"All through her temperate summers,
0:03:40 > 0:03:42"her streets are deliciously shadowed.
0:03:42 > 0:03:47"During the mild winters, sunlight streams through the naked branches.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51"No other city on the Lakes, with the exception of Chicago,
0:03:51 > 0:03:54"has fairer prospects for the future."
0:03:54 > 0:03:58A prediction that has surely stood the test of time.
0:04:06 > 0:04:11As Victorian Canada emerged into the 20th century, Toronto was booming.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15According to Appleton's,
0:04:15 > 0:04:20"between the city limits is gathered a population of about 200,000,
0:04:20 > 0:04:24"which is increasing at a rate with which few other cities
0:04:24 > 0:04:26"on the continent can compare."
0:04:27 > 0:04:31The engine that drove this explosive growth was the railways.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35What better place to begin my Toronto tour
0:04:35 > 0:04:38than in Canada's busiest station?
0:04:45 > 0:04:49Toronto, Canada's largest metropolis,
0:04:49 > 0:04:52has a station to match its greatness.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56And carved into the walls are the destinations that it serves.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, London...
0:05:02 > 0:05:03London?!
0:05:03 > 0:05:05Ah, London, Ontario!
0:05:10 > 0:05:14Toronto got its first railway in 1853,
0:05:14 > 0:05:17and the lines serving the city soon multiplied.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19By the time of my guidebook,
0:05:19 > 0:05:24120 passenger trains arrived here each day.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27The Union Station known to Appleton's readers struggle to cope.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33The solution was this beautiful Beaux-Arts building.
0:05:35 > 0:05:36In the Great Hall,
0:05:36 > 0:05:41Brad Keast is explaining how it's kept pace with the times.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43Brad, it is a gorgeous station, Union Station.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46- When was it built? - Construction started in 1914,
0:05:46 > 0:05:48so it was built throughout World War I,
0:05:48 > 0:05:51which is fascinating because it just speaks to the ambition
0:05:51 > 0:05:52and importance of the building.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55So, what services did this station offer in its heyday?
0:05:55 > 0:05:58Early days in the golden age of train travel,
0:05:58 > 0:06:02this was the main hub for long-haul passenger rail within Canada.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05You could even hop on a train and go down into the United States as well.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08This was where a lot of people came and landed
0:06:08 > 0:06:10for the first time in Canada.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13From Europe, they would take a ship, they would land in Halifax,
0:06:13 > 0:06:16get on a train, travel to Toronto,
0:06:16 > 0:06:17and then step out into Toronto
0:06:17 > 0:06:20as the first foray into their new country.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22From the mid-20th century,
0:06:22 > 0:06:25long-distance rail travel began to decline.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28But the station has undergone a renaissance,
0:06:28 > 0:06:30thanks to a commuter boom.
0:06:30 > 0:06:31How busy is the station now?
0:06:31 > 0:06:35Today, there's about 750,000 people a day coming through the station.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39We're already busier than Toronto's International Airport.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46You would never guess from street level, but, underfoot,
0:06:46 > 0:06:49a mammoth engineering project is underway.
0:06:51 > 0:06:56Excavations will carve out 165,000 square feet of space,
0:06:56 > 0:06:59for new concourses and shops.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04It's a very impressive project.
0:07:04 > 0:07:05Where am I right now?
0:07:05 > 0:07:08Right now, you're in an area called the dig down.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10This is a whole area that's been created underneath
0:07:10 > 0:07:12the existing head house, and under the tracks.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15And you've managed to keep the trains running during this period?
0:07:15 > 0:07:19Yes, the station's been 100% operational the entire time.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22It's an elaborate system of temporary steel columns.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25They brace each of the concrete columns that need to be replaced.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29There's 447 of these columns that need to be done in total.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32And they run right directly under the tracks.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34A vast amount of engineering.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36Obviously hugely expensive, too.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39- Why are you doing it? - It's a necessity.
0:07:39 > 0:07:43Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area is growing so rapidly.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46A lot more people are coming on the regional commuter rail.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50We need to accommodate triple the traffic in the next 20 years.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53In the 19th and 20th centuries,
0:07:53 > 0:07:56the railway stimulated Toronto's economy,
0:07:56 > 0:08:02attracting to the city manufacturing, trade and immigrants.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06The rail boom transformed the urban landscape.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10For decades, a vast area between Union Station and Lake Ontario
0:08:10 > 0:08:13was known as the Railway Lands, a jumble of tracks,
0:08:13 > 0:08:16train sheds and marshalling yards.
0:08:17 > 0:08:18But in the 1960s,
0:08:18 > 0:08:23the city began to reclaim some of its prime real estate.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28The CN Tower was built by Canadian National Railways
0:08:28 > 0:08:31on former railway land.
0:08:31 > 0:08:36When it was completed in 1976, and for 30 years thereafter,
0:08:36 > 0:08:39it was the tallest freestanding structure in the world,
0:08:39 > 0:08:42at 553 metres.
0:08:42 > 0:08:47Now, you can go up 356 metres and dangle off the edge.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50And you can probably see what's coming.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53So, what is my feeling as I look up at it?
0:08:54 > 0:08:55Queasy.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00This iconic tower was built
0:09:00 > 0:09:03to support the city's telecommunications.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07But now its main revenue comes from tourism.
0:09:14 > 0:09:19And for the ultimate CN Tower experience, you need safety gear.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28- All right, and you're good to go. - Thank you.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52I love nothing more than a city panorama,
0:09:52 > 0:09:57but I'm about to get an extreme perspective on Toronto.
0:09:57 > 0:09:58Come check it out, Michael!
0:09:59 > 0:10:02All right! You've got to give it a good push, there, Michael,
0:10:02 > 0:10:04right up to the top. You're all right.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06Oh, I hate going towards the edge!
0:10:12 > 0:10:13Whoa!
0:10:24 > 0:10:28You're now standing 356 metres above the ground.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32That's 1,168 feet, or 116 building storeys.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39Oh...
0:10:40 > 0:10:42I'm leaning out, and I just don't believe I'm doing this.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44I'm leaning out of the tower
0:10:44 > 0:10:46and everything is just down there below me.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48Aargh!
0:10:52 > 0:10:54- OK...- Just keep going there.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56You're doing great, you're almost there.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59- I'm getting to the edge.- Couple more steps, you're almost there.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01You're going to feel it under your heels in just a second.
0:11:01 > 0:11:03Now get your heels right over, perfect.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05- Am I on the edge? - You're on the edge.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08Stop right there, you're good. Widen out your feet just a bit there.
0:11:08 > 0:11:09So now you're going to push, OK?
0:11:09 > 0:11:12So push your knees right back, push against the side of the tower.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14You got it! Push your knees up, push your hips back.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16- Don't pull on that rope there. - No, no.
0:11:16 > 0:11:17Lock your knees in.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19Push, push, push. There we go.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22- I'm leaning out over Toronto! - You're doing it, looking good!
0:11:22 > 0:11:23I'm leaning out over Toronto!
0:11:23 > 0:11:26- Can you get a hand off there? - What's that?
0:11:26 > 0:11:27Can you get a hand off that rope there?
0:11:27 > 0:11:29- One hand off! - Awesome, give me a high five.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31Get both hands off there. There we go.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33- Oh!- Nice! All right!
0:11:38 > 0:11:41When I first came out here, I was absolutely terrified.
0:11:41 > 0:11:46But within a few minutes, you just learn to lean back.
0:11:46 > 0:11:47And enjoy it.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07With my two feet happily back on the ground,
0:12:07 > 0:12:09I'm hitting downtown Toronto,
0:12:09 > 0:12:11armed with my Appleton's.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17I've grown used to the poetic flights of this Canadian edition,
0:12:17 > 0:12:20and I can shelter under its antiquity to be provocative.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24Appleton's suggests that Yonge Street
0:12:24 > 0:12:27may be the longest street in the world.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29And remarks that the women of Toronto
0:12:29 > 0:12:33"are held up to the world's admiration as they display
0:12:33 > 0:12:36"the most attractive types of Canadian beauty."
0:12:36 > 0:12:41Now, a modern guidebook would reject any reference to gender as sexism
0:12:41 > 0:12:46and any reference to appearance as lookism, but I use one from 1899.
0:12:56 > 0:13:01It might also seem risky to rely on a guidebook over 100 years old
0:13:01 > 0:13:04to find lodgings.
0:13:04 > 0:13:09But Appleton's assures me that Toronto's hotels are "of the best".
0:13:09 > 0:13:11And the palatial Royal York,
0:13:11 > 0:13:14built by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company,
0:13:14 > 0:13:16seems to live up to that judgment.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23Jacqueline Tyler is here to greet me.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26Hi, Michael. Nice to meet you.
0:13:26 > 0:13:27Jacqueline, what a lovely hotel.
0:13:27 > 0:13:32- When was it built?- It was built and opened June 11th, 1929.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34It took approximately three years to complete.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37And give me an idea of the scale of the hotel in those days?
0:13:37 > 0:13:39What did people think of it then?
0:13:39 > 0:13:40It was grand and opulent.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42The feeling still remains the same today.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45They would walk off the train and look up off Front Street
0:13:45 > 0:13:47and be in awe.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51The Royal York was one of a network of luxury hotels
0:13:51 > 0:13:54known as the Castles of the North.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59They were built to capitalise on the tourist appeal of the highly scenic
0:13:59 > 0:14:04transcontinental railway, completed in 1885.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08The hotel were modelled on European chateaux,
0:14:08 > 0:14:12and have always catered to a discerning clientele.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14Now, you receive, don't you, the Royal Family,
0:14:14 > 0:14:15when they visit Toronto?
0:14:15 > 0:14:18We have been proud to be the choice hotel for the Royal Family for many
0:14:18 > 0:14:23years. And many prime ministers, presidents, monarchs, VIPs,
0:14:23 > 0:14:25celebrities and everyday guests, too.
0:14:25 > 0:14:26Thank you.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38With over 1,000 rooms, the 28-storey Royal York
0:14:38 > 0:14:42was once the largest hotel in the British Empire.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46Her Majesty the Queen has been here on several occasions.
0:14:46 > 0:14:48So I'm hoping for a royal welcome.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54Now, all of this can be served happily for any of our guests upon request.
0:14:54 > 0:14:55However, we do indeed save one
0:14:55 > 0:14:59very, very special thing for those very special VIP guests.
0:15:29 > 0:15:31A new day.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34And my Toronto tour is back on track.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39The electric streetcar was first demonstrated in North America
0:15:39 > 0:15:45here in Toronto in 1883, running on this very route.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48And there's no rule that says it can't run underground.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59With 11 lines and 51 miles of track,
0:15:59 > 0:16:04Toronto's streetcar is today North America's biggest light-rail system.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06And a great way to get to know the city.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14I'm not used to a streetcar that is sometimes above ground
0:16:14 > 0:16:16and sometimes underground. Is that typical of Toronto?
0:16:16 > 0:16:19I'm actually not from Toronto, I'm from Germany.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22- You're from Germany?! - Yeah, from Germany.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24So, what kind of stuff are you doing while you're here?
0:16:24 > 0:16:28I'm actually working here and my family is visiting right now.
0:16:28 > 0:16:29For three weeks.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31Did you find the Canadians quite welcoming?
0:16:31 > 0:16:33- Yes, very, very.- Really?
0:16:33 > 0:16:35- Quite warm?- Quite warm.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39- Yeah, much more than the Germans, I feel.- Really?- Yeah.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41HE LAUGHS
0:16:45 > 0:16:50This streetcar system was fully electrified in the 1890s.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53Powered by the pioneering Toronto Electric Light Company.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58Its co-founder was local stockbroker Henry Pellatt,
0:16:58 > 0:17:01whose savvy investments in hydroelectric power
0:17:01 > 0:17:03and the Canadian Pacific Railway
0:17:03 > 0:17:06eventually made him one of the richest men in Canada.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11Fortunes could be made in this thrusting city.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20Toronto opened its stock exchange in 1852.
0:17:20 > 0:17:25And Appleton's captures the bullish sentiment of the age.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29"The city may fairly claim to be the intellectual centre of the Dominion,
0:17:29 > 0:17:32"looking back from wonderful achievement
0:17:32 > 0:17:35"to a future of bright possibilities.
0:17:35 > 0:17:40"Instinct with the sanguine spirit of the young Canadian people."
0:17:49 > 0:17:54Today, the Toronto stock exchange is among the ten largest in the world.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05And I've a very important appointment to keep.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08APPLAUSE
0:18:08 > 0:18:13Five, four, three, two, one...
0:18:13 > 0:18:15CHEERING
0:18:30 > 0:18:32In 1977,
0:18:32 > 0:18:35the Toronto stock exchange was the world's first
0:18:35 > 0:18:38to introduce computer-assisted trading.
0:18:38 > 0:18:4220 years later, all trades were fully automated.
0:18:42 > 0:18:47But Donnie Moss remembers the noisy free-for-all of the trading pit
0:18:47 > 0:18:49the readers of my Appleton's would have recognised.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54Donnie, how far back do you and the Toronto financial markets go?
0:18:56 > 0:18:58I started trading in 1954.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02In the early days, when you first came to the floors,
0:19:02 > 0:19:04was it open outcry going on?
0:19:04 > 0:19:06It always has been.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08Open outcry right until 1997.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10Give me a trade, yell out a trade?
0:19:10 > 0:19:12I want to buy 5,000 Bell Telephone.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15I would go to the post where Bell Telephone was listed,
0:19:15 > 0:19:19I would say, "Show me 5,000 Bell and a half!"
0:19:19 > 0:19:22- Very good!- And then I'd be swamped!
0:19:22 > 0:19:24By the time of my guidebook,
0:19:24 > 0:19:29canny traders had devised tricks to combat the hubbub.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32Let me give you an introduction into some of the hand signals.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34We traded fractions, and they were signified by...
0:19:34 > 0:19:36an eighth, quarter, three-eighths,
0:19:36 > 0:19:38a half, five-eighths, three-quarters,
0:19:38 > 0:19:40seven-eighths, even dollar.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44Sell, buy. Now, to speed up the process,
0:19:44 > 0:19:48a lot of the traders introduced hand signals for some of the stocks.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51For example, Bell Telephone was signalled like this.
0:19:51 > 0:19:53Bell. Consolidated Mining and Smelting,
0:19:53 > 0:19:55touch of the nose, "smell-ters".
0:19:55 > 0:19:59We had a phone clerk sitting in a booth on the side of the floor.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03And suddenly he's got an order to buy 5,000 Bell.
0:20:03 > 0:20:08He's going to give me Bell and a half, 5,000, buy.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12Donnie, I also in my past came from a very noisy environment
0:20:12 > 0:20:14where people were screaming at each other all the time.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17- Don't you miss it like hell? - On, like hell. I do.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19It was a camaraderie that we had down there.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21It was a club. It was a family.
0:20:22 > 0:20:23In the early days,
0:20:23 > 0:20:26railway bonds represented a big proportion
0:20:26 > 0:20:29of the stock exchange's transactions.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31And 19th-century technology,
0:20:31 > 0:20:33including the telephone and the telegraph,
0:20:33 > 0:20:35changed the way that the traders worked.
0:20:37 > 0:20:38But by the 1960s,
0:20:38 > 0:20:44a low-tech innovation ushered in a colourful era for the Toronto pit,
0:20:44 > 0:20:45as John Manor remembers.
0:20:47 > 0:20:49John, I'm quite interested in coloured jackets.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53- Tell me about these?- The jackets were mainly worn for visibility.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55Everybody with a certain company
0:20:55 > 0:20:56would wear a similar coloured jacket.
0:20:56 > 0:21:00All the traders for the Royal Bank would wear a blue blazer.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03This one here is for Green Line investors.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05And this one here was Nesbitt Thompson.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09And now, John, now we're coming to a serious jacket!
0:21:09 > 0:21:12They were with a brokerage firm called McLeod, Young and Wear.
0:21:13 > 0:21:14When they got these jackets,
0:21:14 > 0:21:18the entire staff was marched onto the trading floor with a pipe band!
0:21:18 > 0:21:21- Excellent!- It was an exciting place.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23Everybody wanted to come to work every day.
0:21:23 > 0:21:24You don't see that much any more.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26We'd yell and scream at each other
0:21:26 > 0:21:29and, you know, not be terribly upset.
0:21:29 > 0:21:30John, you know,
0:21:30 > 0:21:33I sometimes find I stand out in a crowd wearing these clothes.
0:21:33 > 0:21:34I should have been around in those days!
0:21:34 > 0:21:37- I would just have blended right in! - Oh, you certainly would have!
0:21:37 > 0:21:40You're dressed like a floor trader from the old days, for sure,
0:21:40 > 0:21:42without a doubt!
0:21:48 > 0:21:51My time in Toronto is almost at an end.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04I'm following Appleton's tip
0:22:04 > 0:22:07to end my wanderings among the picnic grounds
0:22:07 > 0:22:09of High Park on the Humber.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19Today, it's famous for its Maple Leaf Circle.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23I'm here to discover the patriotic song
0:22:23 > 0:22:26that stirred Canada as a newborn nation.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31Musicology Professor Robin Elliott will tell me about the man
0:22:31 > 0:22:33who wrote it, Alexander Muir.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39Alexander Muir, The Maple Leaf Forever, tell me the story?
0:22:39 > 0:22:42Alexander Muir was an immigrant from Scotland,
0:22:42 > 0:22:44he came when he was only three years old.
0:22:44 > 0:22:49He was an ardent Loyalist, strong Protestant beliefs.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53And very proud of his British heritage
0:22:53 > 0:22:55and of the loyalty to the British Crown.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58And his expression of that patriotism, as he envisaged it,
0:22:58 > 0:23:01was this song, The Maple Leaf Forever.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03Which, in the words, you know, it's
0:23:03 > 0:23:05"the thistle, shamrock, rose entwine."
0:23:05 > 0:23:08The thistle being Scotland, the rose England,
0:23:08 > 0:23:09and the shamrock being Ireland.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12So, the three, uh, peoples of the British Isles
0:23:12 > 0:23:14were united in Canada,
0:23:14 > 0:23:17so long as they were loyal to the Crown, of course.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21It's said that a fallen maple leaf lodged on a friend's coat sleeve
0:23:21 > 0:23:24first prompted Muir to pick up his pen.
0:23:24 > 0:23:25How did the song come about?
0:23:25 > 0:23:28The Maple Leaf Forever was written as a poem initially,
0:23:28 > 0:23:29without any music.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33He entered it in a contest in Montreal in 1867.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37And then he cast around for suitable music to set his poem to
0:23:37 > 0:23:40and, not finding any, he wrote the music himself.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42Having in his ear, I think, Scottish folk songs.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45Some people have noticed a similarity
0:23:45 > 0:23:47to My Love Is Like A Red, Red Rose.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51And so it has a kind of lilting quality of a folk song to it,
0:23:51 > 0:23:53which is one of the reasons it has been so popular.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59In 1867, British patriots like Muir
0:23:59 > 0:24:03were contemplating significant independence
0:24:03 > 0:24:04from the motherland.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08In that year, three British North American colonies united
0:24:08 > 0:24:12to form the new Dominion of Canada.
0:24:12 > 0:24:14Canadian identity was up for grabs.
0:24:14 > 0:24:19And Muir's song soon became an unofficial national anthem.
0:24:19 > 0:24:21What are the lyrics of the song about?
0:24:21 > 0:24:25The lyrics celebrate all things British in the foundation of Canada,
0:24:25 > 0:24:27starting with the very first words
0:24:27 > 0:24:30about Wolfe the dauntless hero arriving here
0:24:30 > 0:24:33and defeating a French general, Montcalm, which established
0:24:33 > 0:24:37British superiority over the French in North America.
0:24:37 > 0:24:38And they go on to celebrate the English,
0:24:38 > 0:24:43Irish and Scottish strains of the Canadian identity with great passion
0:24:43 > 0:24:47and certitude that this is the right way for Canada to be.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51But completely omitting both the French and indigenous peoples,
0:24:51 > 0:24:54as well as any other settlers in this part of the world.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57Consequently, how is the song viewed today?
0:24:58 > 0:25:02It still gets an airing, but with completely new lyrics now.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05The new lyrics celebrate the national splendours of Canada
0:25:05 > 0:25:06- the mountains, the waters -
0:25:06 > 0:25:09and of course the multicultural nature of the nation,
0:25:09 > 0:25:13as it is in the 21st century, rather than as it was in the 19th century.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15Well, quite a contrast, then.
0:25:15 > 0:25:16Yes.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24MUSIC: The Maple Leaf Forever by Alexander Muir
0:25:30 > 0:25:34Canada's vision of itself has greatly evolved.
0:25:34 > 0:25:38Still, the song forms an important part of Canadian history.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20"We have moulded this confederation out of the once scattered
0:26:20 > 0:26:25"and half-antagonistic provinces of British North America,"
0:26:25 > 0:26:27wrote Appleton's in 1899.
0:26:27 > 0:26:32In fact, Canada still nurses a bad conscience about its First Nations.
0:26:32 > 0:26:36And the large French minority may not feel comfortable
0:26:36 > 0:26:39pledging allegiance to a British monarch.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42Those strong European ties give this nation
0:26:42 > 0:26:46a distinctive character, and even in the American-looking cities,
0:26:46 > 0:26:49there's a touch of London and Paris.
0:26:49 > 0:26:53The country therefore understands the outside world.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56And the new Canada is multiracial.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58Those are attractive qualities,
0:26:58 > 0:27:00and they add to the warmth of the welcome
0:27:00 > 0:27:02given to the foreign visitor.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06Something that I have been lucky to experience.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13My journey, which began on the glorious New England coast,
0:27:13 > 0:27:16and brought me across the international boundary
0:27:16 > 0:27:19to Canada's commercial capital, is now complete.
0:27:22 > 0:27:26Next time, I'm back on the railroads of the United States
0:27:26 > 0:27:27for a brand-new adventure
0:27:27 > 0:27:31that will carry me all the way to the West Coast.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35Beginning in the Silver State of Nevada.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39It was at one time known as the richest place on Earth.
0:27:39 > 0:27:44My Appleton's will guide me across the stunning Sierra Nevada mountains
0:27:44 > 0:27:46to the beaches of California...
0:27:52 > 0:27:57..via some of the most awe-inspiring natural wonders in the world.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01One of the tallest mountains in Yosemite, El Capitan.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07People come from all over the world to enjoy these trees.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09To see them from the train, Phil, is special.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11Oh, it really is. I never tire of the view.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS