George Laidlaw

Who was George Laidlaw?

George Laidlaw was a businessman who promoted the development of narrow gauge railways and was invaluable in the chartering of the Toronto & Nipissing and the Toronto Grey & Bruce Railways in 1868. From then until his retirement in 1881, he continued to promote the initiation or extension of several other local railways, and proposed a grand plan for uniting the independent railways of southern Ontario into a competitive alternative to the Grand Trunk Railroad. Though it was met with minimal success at the time, the idea was the backbone of what was to become the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Born in Scotland, Laidlaw moved to Canada in 1855 at the age of 37 and took a position with Gooderham and Worts Distillery in Toronto, Ontario. Seeing the potential market for local railways in the midst of the Grand Trunk Railroad's monopoly, and the lack of accessibility into rural Upper Canada by road and water, Laidlaw began to promote the idea of a 3 foot, 6 inch railway as an alternative to the more expensive standard gauge of 5 feet, 6 inches.