The series portrayed the concept and construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway during the late 19th century, with Berton himself as narrator.
Royal Trust, which was the executor of Cornelius Van Horne's estate, paid $400,000 to be a principal sponsor.
[4] CBC Television premiered the eight-part hour-long series on 30 March 1974[1] and aired its final instalment on 28 April 1974.
The series' rated audience of three million within Canada set a record for CBC in terms of dramatic programming.
The series was also dubbed in French and broadcast on Radio-Canada,[4] and was later seen in modified form on BBC in the United Kingdom.