The Trans-Canada Highway changed everything about Canada, but most people don't know the full story behind it. This is the complete history of how Canada built the world's longest national highway - from the first discussions in the early 1900s to the official opening in 1962 and everything that came after.

Before the Trans-Canada Highway existed, you literally couldn't drive across Canada without crossing into the United States multiple times. The country was disconnected. Provinces didn't talk to each other. Building a highway that stretched from Newfoundland to British Columbia seemed impossible.

In this video, we cover the entire history of the Trans-Canada Highway including the political battles that almost stopped it from being built, the engineering challenges of blasting through the Rocky Mountains, the workers who died building it through dangerous terrain, and how the highway transformed Canadian identity forever.

We explore every section of the Trans-Canada Highway from the rocky shores of Newfoundland through the Canadian Shield in Ontario, across the endless prairies of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, over the breathtaking Rocky Mountains in Alberta and British Columbia, and finally to the Pacific coast. You'll learn about the Fraser Canyon construction that took years longer than expected, the Rogers Pass avalanche control program that uses artillery to this day, and why some sections are still just two lanes while others are modern expressways.

This video also covers the darker sides of the Trans-Canada Highway history including the Highway of Tears tragedy, how Indigenous communities were affected without consultation, the small towns that died when the highway bypassed them, and the environmental impacts that weren't considered in the 1950s and 1960s.

From Terry Fox's Marathon of Hope to modern trucking culture, from roadside attractions like the Big Nickel to legendary small-town diners, from winter blizzards that shut down entire sections to the ongoing challenges of climate change and infrastructure maintenance - this is everything you need to know about the Trans-Canada Highway.

The Trans-Canada Highway isn't just a road. It's a symbol of Canadian unity, determination, and identity. It's 7,800 kilometers of history, engineering, tragedy, and triumph that connects an entire nation from coast to coast.