1996-2000

2nd BOARD CHAIR

• In 1998, Sherman Olson was appointed as Chair of the Trans Canada Trail Board of Directors.

FEDERAL FUNDING OF $7.725 MILLION

• In 1998, Trans Canada Trail received $7.725 million in federal funding from the Millennium Bureau of Canada to manage a cross-country relay as part of Canada’s millennial celebrations in 2000. 

RAILWAY DONATIONS

• In 1998 and 2000, Canadian Pacific and Canadian National, respectively, donated a total of 2,100 km of former rail corridors in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Nova Scotia to Trans Canada Trail.  
• Trans Canada Trail, in turn, began the lengthy process of gifting these lands to the appropriate municipalities and provincial governments.

BRIDGES FOR CANADA

• Canadian Military Engineers (CME) embarked on three-year program (2000-2003) to help communities construct/restore bridges along the Trail – Bridges for Canada. 
•  Not only did this benefit all Canadians, it also provided practical field training for military engineers, engineering students and cadets.  
• Over 60 bridges were built, and the Bridges for Canada project made a monumental contribution to the advancement of the Trans Canada Trail. 

MILLENNIAL WATER RELAY

• On September 9, 2000, three relay teams converged on Hull, Quebec, and poured water from the Arctic, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans into a vessel to mark the official inauguration of the Trans Canada Trail.