List of street railways in Canada

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British Columbia Electric Railway streetcar no. 229, operating on route 5 Robson, 1948.

This is a list of street railways in Canada by province. Prince Edward Island, Northwest Territories and Nunavut are the only places in Canada to not have had any tram (streetcar) system. The list includes all streetcar systems, past and present.

Alberta[edit]

Location Name of System Traction
Type 		Date (From) Date (To) Notes
Calgary Calgary Municipal Railway Electric 5 Jul 1909 29 Dec 1950
Heritage Park Historical Village Electric 1975 Museum with operational heritage streetcar lines. Operates only during summer season. Streetcars was taken out of service in 2006 in preparation for the park's expansion, and returned to service in May 2010, taking passengers from the parking lot to the newly built CPR replica station and front gate.[1][circular reference]
Edmonton Edmonton Radial Railway Electric 30 Oct 1908 1 Sep 1951  
Edmonton Interurban Railway Company Petrol (gasoline) 30 Sep 1913 1 Apr 1914 Connected Edmonton and St. Albert. Closed because of depot (carbarn) fire. 
  
Edmonton Radial Railway Society - Fort Edmonton Park Electric 1984 Operates in Fort Edmonton Park during park operating times. [1] 
  
Edmonton Radial Railway Society - High Level Bridge Streetcar Electric 14 Jun 1997 Operates daily during summer season. Operates on the highest streetcar bridge in the world. Includes streetcar museum. [2]
Lake Louise Lake Louise Tramway Petrol (gasoline) 1912 1930 Operated only during summer season (May-Sep).
Lethbridge Lethbridge Municipal Railway Electric Sep 1912 8 Sep 1947  

British Columbia[edit]

Location Name of System Traction
Type 		Date (From) Date (To) Notes
Nelson Nelson Street Railway Electric 27 Dec 1899

8 Nov 1910

27 April 1908

20 Jun 1949

Closed 1908 because of depot (carbarn) fire. Operation suspended 21 Dec 1910 - 21 Jun 1911. Ranked as the smallest town in the British Empire with a town tramway system.
Heritage tramway opened 15 Jun 1992; see Nelson Electric Tramway.
Vancouver British Columbia Electric Railway Company Electric 28 Jun 1890 21 Apr 1955 Heritage tramway opened 29 Jul 1998; operated May – October; service suspended indefinitely in fall 2011 – see Vancouver Downtown Historic Railway.[2]
? New Westminster Electric 7 Oct 1891 4 Dec 1938  
? North Vancouver Electric 1 Sep 1906 23 Apr 1947  
Victoria Electric 22 Feb 1890 3 Jul 1948  

Manitoba[edit]

Location Name of System Traction
Type 		Date (From) Date (To) Notes
Brandon Brandon Municipal Railway Electric 2 Jun 1913 30 Apr 1932 Operation suspended 15 Aug 1931 - 1 Oct 1931.
Winnipeg Winnipeg Electric Company Horse 20 Oct 1882 Jun 1894  
Electric 27 Jan 1891 18 Sep 1955  

New Brunswick[edit]

Location Name of System Traction
Type 		Date (From) Date (To) Notes
Moncton Moncton Electric Street Railway, Heat and Power Company, Moncton Tramways, Electricity and Gas Company, Ltd. Electric 11 Aug 1896

30 Nov 1911

11 Dec 1897

31 Dec 1931

 
Saint John Saint John Railway Co., New Brunswick Power Company Horse 24 Aug 1869

17 Oct 1887

1876

May 1893

 
Electric 12 Apr 1893 7 Aug 1948  
St. Stephen Calais Street Railway Company International tramway, see Calais, Maine, US.

Newfoundland and Labrador[edit]

Location Name of System Traction
Type 		Date (From) Date (To) Notes
St. John's St. John's Street Railway Company Electric 1 May 1900 15 Sep 1948  

Nova Scotia[edit]

Location Name of System Traction
Type 		Date (From) Date (To) Notes
Halifax Nova Scotia Light and Power Company, Limited Horse 11 Jun 1866

21 Oct 1886

17 May 1876

31 May 1896

 
Electric 12 Feb 1896 29 Apr 1949  
New Glasgow - Trenton Pictou County Electric Company Electric 10 Oct 1904 7 May 1931  
Sydney Cape Breton Electric Company Electric 1901 Oct 1931  
? North Sydney Cape Breton Electric Company Electric 1903 1929  
? Glace Bay Cape Breton Tramways Company, Ltd. Electric 7 Jan 1908 1938  
? Sydney - Glace Bay Cape Breton Tramways Company, Ltd. Electric Oct 1902 15 May 1947  
Yarmouth Yarmouth Light and Power Company Electric 26 Aug 1892 20 Oct 1928  

Ontario[edit]

Location Name of System Traction
Type 		Date (From) Date (To) Notes
Belleville Belleville Traction Company Horse 1876-05-23 1891-11-26 Closed because of depot (carbarn) fire. (One source states that horse tramway operation continued to electrification in 1895.)
Electric 1895-08-03 1901-09-12  
Brantford Brantford Municipal Railway Horse 1886-09-04 1893  
Electric 1893-03-31

1933-01-09

1932-09-30

1940-01-31

 
Chatham Chatham Street Railway Company Horse 1885

1891-06

1890-03-29

1895 (?)

[3]
Cornwall Cornwall Street Railway, Light and Power Company, Ltd[4] Electric 1896-07-07 1949-07-27 Used for freight under catenary until 9 October 1971[4]
Guelph Guelph Radial Railway Company Electric 1895-09-17 1937-09-30 [5]
Hamilton Hamilton Street Railway Horse 1874-05-15 1893  
Electric 1892-07-02 1951-04-06  
Kingston Kingston, Portsmouth and Cataraqui Electric Railway Company Electric 1893-09-26 1930-03-04 Closed because of tramcar depot (carbarn) fire.
Kitchener and Waterloo Berlin and Waterloo Street Railway Horse 1889-06-13 1895 Converted to electric
Kitchener and Waterloo Electric 1895-05-18 1923 Ownership transfer to Kitchener PUC
Kitchener and Waterloo Berlin & Bridgeport Electric Street Railway Company 1902–1912; Electric 1902 1923 Renamed Berlin & Northern Railway Company 1912, Waterloo Wellington Railway Company 1919; ownership transfer to Kitchener PUC 1923
Kitchener and Waterloo Kitchener PUC Street Railway Department Electric 1923 1946-12-27 Converted to bus, trolleybus
Kitchener and Waterloo Ion rapid transit Electric 2019-06-21
London London Street Railway Horse 1875-05-24 1896-05  
Electric 1895-09-12 1940-11-27  
Niagara Falls Niagara, St. Catharines and Toronto Railway Horse 1886-12-06 1900  
Electric 1900-08-15 1947-11-26  
Oshawa Oshawa Railway Company Electric 1895-06-13 1940-01-28  
Ottawa Ottawa Electric Railway Company Horse 1870-07-21 1891  
Electric 1891-06-29 1959-04-30 Diesel light rail transit (DLRT), opened 15 Oct 2001.
Peterborough Peterborough Radial Railway Company Electric 1893-08

1902

1898

1927-03-31

 
St. Catharines Niagara, St. Catharines and Toronto Railway Horse 1879-11-01 1887  
Electric 1887-09 1948-05-07  
St. Thomas St. Thomas Municipal Railway Horse 1879 1898  
Electric 1898-06-16 1926-02-12  
Sarnia Sarnia Street Railway Company Horse 1875 1901  
Electric 1901-01 1931-02-25  
Sault Ste. Marie International Transit Company Electric 1903-03-30 1941-11-01  
Temiskaming Shores Temiskaming Streetcar Line Electric 1910-04-30 1935-02-09
Greater Sudbury Sudbury and Copper Cliff Suburban Electric Railway Company Electric 1915-11-11 1950-10-01  
Thunder Bay         Tramways in Fort William and Port Arthur closed prior to amalgamation.
? Fort William Fort William Street Railway Electric 1892-03-02 1948-02-15 First electric streetcar system in Canada
? Port Arthur Port Arthur Civic Railway Electric 1893-06-01 1948-10-16  
Toronto Toronto streetcar system Horse 1861-09-11 1894-08-31  
Electric 1892-08-16 Present
Waterloo         see Kitchener.
Welland Niagara, Welland and Lake Erie Railway Company Electric 1912-01 1930-07-04  
Windsor Sandwich, Windsor and Amherstburg Railway Company Horse 1874-07-20

1878-05

1877

1893

 
Steam 1877

1888-04

1878-05

1888

 
Electric 1886-06-06

1891-08-15

1888-04

1939-05-06

 

Quebec[edit]

Location Name of System Traction
Type 		Date (From) Date (To) Notes
East Broughton Québec Asbestos Company Electric (?) ca. 1924 (?) 1942 (?) Peschkes (Part Four, 1998, Page 25) states that, according to one source, Québec Asbestos Company operated a small town tramway network with three tramcars acquired second-hand from Sherbrooke. No other sources confirm this information.
Gatineau Hull Electric Company Electric 1895 6 Dec 1947 Tramway in Hull closed prior to amalgamation with neighboring towns.
Lévis Levis Tramways Company Electric 1903 23 Nov 1946 Operation suspended 1921 - 1922 because of depot (carbarn) fire.
Montréal Montreal Tramways Company Horse 27 Nov 1861 Oct 1894 Montreal City Passenger Railway became Montreal Street Railway Co in 1886
Electric 21 Sep 1892 30 Aug 1959 MSRy amalgamated with Montreal, Park and Island Railway (MSRy assumed control of that company in 1901) and Montreal Terminal Railway (MSRy assumed control of that company in 1907) to form Montreal Tramways Co in 1911. The company was purchased by the Montreal Transportation Commission in 1951.
Québec Quebec Railway, Light and Power Company: Citadel Division Horse 17 Aug 1865 1898  
Electric 20 Jul 1897 25 May 1948  
Sherbrooke Sherbrooke Railway and Power Company Electric 1 Nov 1897 31 Dec 1931  
Trois-Rivières (Three Rivers) Three Rivers Traction Company Electric 11 Dec 1915 12 Sep 1933  

Saskatchewan[edit]

Location Name of System Traction
Type 		Date (From) Date (To) Notes
Moose Jaw Moose Jaw Electric Railway Company Electric 4 Sep 1911 8 Oct 1932  
Regina Regina Municipal Railway Electric 28 Jul 1911 9 Sep 1950  
Saskatoon Saskatoon Municipal Railway Electric 1 Jan 1913 10 Nov 1951  

Yukon[edit]

Location Name of System Traction
Type 		Date (From) Date (To) Notes
Whitehorse Whitehorse trolley Diesel 2000 2018 Heritage tramway with one streetcar (from Lisbon, Portugal). Closed in 2018 due to lack of funding for track maintenance.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Heritage Park Historical Village
  2. ^ "Vancouver's Downtown Historic Railway". Archived 2008-09-24 at the Wayback Machine City of Vancouver. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
  3. ^ "Notes Towards a Street Railway History of Chatham, Ontario".
  4. ^ a b "Cornwall Street Railway Light & Power Co".
  5. ^ "Guelph Radial Railway".
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