British Columbia Electric

Company History: The BCER was established in 1897 to takeover the Consolidated Railway & Light Company that ran traction lines in Victoria, Vancouver and New Westminster, British Columbia following the terrible Point Ellice Bridge Disaster that killed 55 people and sent the CR&LCo into receivership. In 1905, BCER leased the line from Vancouver to Marpole from Canadian Pacific, strung trolley wire and began providing interurban and freight service on the route. In 1909 the line was extended from Marpole to New Westminster. The following year, it was extended again to Chilliwack. Conversion from streetcars and interurbans to buses began in 1938 and rolled out slowly across the system. The last to go was the Marpole to Steveston line that went in 1958. BCER became freight only at that point. In 1961, the provincial government took over the company and it became British Columbia Hydro & Power Authority.

Successor/Parent History: BC Hydro is a Crown corporation, owned by the government and people of British Columbia. It's our job to generate, and to purchase, reliable, affordable electricity for our customers. We operate 31 hydroelectric facilities and two thermal generating plants, with the bulk of our generation coming from dams on the Peace and Columbia river systems. We deliver electricity to customers through a network of over 78,000 kilometres of transmission and distribution lines. As a Provincial Crown corporation, the owner and sole shareholder of BC Hydro is the Province of British Columbia. We report through the Ministry of Energy and Mines.

n 1988, BC Hydro sold the railroad to Itel Rail Group who changed the name to Southern Railway of British Columbia. In 1994, Itel sold it to the Washington Group.

Brief History: Canada is a North American country stretching from the U.S. in the south to the Arctic Circle in the north. Major cities include massive Toronto, west coast film centre Vancouver, French-speaking Montréal and Québec City, and capital city Ottawa. Canada's vast swaths of wilderness include lake-filled Banff National Park in the Rocky Mountains. It's also home to Niagara Falls, a famous group of massive waterfalls.