Pacific scandal

Pacific scandal 1873, a major event in Canadian political history. Charges were made in Parliament that the Conservative administration of Sir John A. Macdonald had accepted campaign funds from Sir Hugh Allan in return for a promise to award Allan's syndicate the contract to build the Canadian Pacific Railway. Macdonald's statement that the contract and the contributions were unconnected was received with skepticism. Donald A. Smith (later Lord Strathcona ) broke with Macdonald over the crisis and through his publicly expressed lack of confidence in Macdonald was partly responsible for the Conservative administration's downfall. The government was forced to resign because of the scandal, and the Conservative party was badly defeated in the ensuing elections.

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.