In 1905, CNoR reached Edmonton, which had just been named capital of the newly formed province of Alberta.
Rather than competing with the GTPR in having a terminal at the mouth of the Skeena, the CNoR accepted the BC government subsidies to switch to the Vancouver area.
When the GTPR selected the Yellowhead route, the CNoR protests created only some delays.
 In 1911, work was started on a new townsite named Port Mann on the Fraser River that would accommodate the new car shops, and from where lines would extend to Vancouver and the Fraser River delta.

CNoR's initial expansion in the 1890s and 1900s had been relatively frugal, largely by acquiring bankrupt companies or finishing failed construction projects.
By the 1910s, significant expenses were accumulating.
The CNoR started construction west of Edmonton in 1910, fully two years later than GTPR.
The construction through the Rockies, which was expensive, largely paralleled the GTPR line of 1911, creating about 100 miles of duplication.
However, the largest costs were from building on "the wrong side" of the Thompson and Fraser rivers in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia.
CPR already had trackage on the desirable banks, forcing the CNoR to blast tunnels and ledges out of these canyons.

The most infamous construction folly on the CNoR in British Columbia happened in 1913, when blasting for a passage for the railway at Hells Gate triggered an enormous landslide which partially blocked the narrow swift-flowing Fraser River.
The resulting damage to Pacific salmon runs took decades to reverse by the governmental construction of fishways.
In 1905, CNoR reached Edmonton, which had just been named capital of the newly formed province of Alberta. Rather than competing with the GTPR in having a terminal at the mouth of the Skeena, the CNoR accepted the BC government subsidies to switch to the Vancouver area. When the GTPR selected the Yellowhead route, the CNoR protests created only some delays.  In 1911, work was started on a new townsite named Port Mann on the Fraser River that would accommodate the new car shops, and from where lines would extend to Vancouver and the Fraser River delta.
CNoR's initial expansion in the 1890s and 1900s had been relatively frugal, largely by acquiring bankrupt companies or finishing failed construction projects. By the 1910s, significant expenses were accumulating. The CNoR started construction west of Edmonton in 1910, fully two years later than GTPR. The construction through the Rockies, which was expensive, largely paralleled the GTPR line of 1911, creating about 100 miles of duplication. However, the largest costs were from building on "the wrong side" of the Thompson and Fraser rivers in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia. CPR already had trackage on the desirable banks, forcing the CNoR to blast tunnels and ledges out of these canyons. 
The most infamous construction folly on the CNoR in British Columbia happened in 1913, when blasting for a passage for the railway at Hells Gate triggered an enormous landslide which partially blocked the narrow swift-flowing Fraser River. The resulting damage to Pacific salmon runs took decades to reverse by the governmental construction of fishways.
Canadian Northern Railway