Canadians have always been a nation of trail builders. Native people used waterways and woodland trails for their trade and travel, our modern nation was forged by a railway ribbon of steel linking the frontier west coast with the great seaports of eastern Canada, building the Trans Canada Highways further cemented our national identity, bonding us together into one great country.
Following in the trail of our history, we can meet the next century as a new breed of trail builders, conserving and preserving our natural grandeur for all Canadians to enjoy now and beyond tomorrow. The Trans Canada Trail is history in the making.
How did it begin?
The concept was conceived by the Canada 125 Corporation in 1992. This was the organization set up to celebrate Canada's 125th year in Confederation. The now defunct Canada 125 Corporation provided seed funding to help establish the Trans Canada Trail Foundation in December of 1992.
The Trans Canada Trail is therefore a legacy project of Canada 125. The Trail logo is, in fact, a modified version of the Canada 125 logo, which was created by Peter Gough (president of a Halifax advertising agency).
Prior to its public launch in June of 1994, the Foundation spent one year establishing itself with grass-root trail and user-related organizations throughout Canada, their support was and continues to be the underpinning of the entire cause. The Foundation was also extremely fortunate in securing the support of four Founding Sponsors, which had the vision and the conviction to be the first corporate entities to stand behind the Trans Canada Trail before it was even launched to the Canadian public - their background provided solid credibility from the outset. For the record, they are: CANADA TRUST, CANADA POST, CHRYSLER CANADA AND TSN/RDS .
If there are any individuals that can be credited with having played a significant role in initiating the Trans Canada Trail, they would be Dr. Pierre Camu (O.C.), the first Chairman of the Board and William (Bill) Pratt (O.C.) the first Executive Director. These two gentlemen are the fathers of the Trans Canada Trail.
Now that you know the history of the Trans Canada Trail, go onto the next page to find out its status.
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