Edward Wentworth Beatty - Canadian Pacific Railway, Steamships & Air Lines

Canadian Pacific Railway, Steamships & Air Lines

Beatty's father's steam line was bought out by the Canadian Pacific Railway for transportation across the Great Lakes and his vessels became the nucleus of the CPR's trans-Atlantic steam line, Canadian Pacific Steamships. Henry Beatty remained as marine advisor to the CPR after his retirement in 1892, and it was through this connection that Edward came to the attention of the CPR and was appointed as their General Counsel in 1901. On the retirement of the CPR's Lord Shaughnessy in 1918, Beatty was chosen to be his successor as President and Executive Chief of the world's greatest privately-owned transportation system, just before his 41st birthday. Beatty's lifetime ambition had been to become a judge, and he at first refused the significant promotion. He was the first Canadian-born president of the CPR, a position he held until his death in 1943, and assumed the monumental task of managing the destiny of the great railway and steamship line.

Lord Mount Stephen was seen as the organizer of the CPR; Sir William Van Horne as the builder; Lord Shaughnessy as the expander, and Sir Edward Beatty as the modernizer. During his term as president, Beatty was involved in building the Royal York Hotel, the RMS Empress of Britain II and Canadian Pacific Airlines. Edward Beatty saw the CPR through peak periods as well as the depression. In the boom years the CPR spent many millions in improving its enormous and diverse property holdings. Edward Beatty was always a believer in the great future of the Canadian West, and he was an inspiration to young Canada.