In 1880 the Canadian Pacific Railway was born with an enormously rich legacy--millions of acres of land, millions in cash and plenty of existing rail lines. From an auspicious beginning it grew immensely wealthy and powerful.

Robert Chodos, in an unorthodox company history, explains how the CPR did it. He shows how the Railway's growth came primarily as a result of continued favourable treatment from Ottawa, how it managed to avoid government takeover while receiving enormous public subsidies, how it continued to earn huge profits, and how it turned itself into a highly-diversified conglomerate involved in real estate, pulp and paper, mining, and oil as well as every form of transportation.

The CPR: A Century of Corporate Welfare is a sharp, uncompromising account of the rise to power of Canada's most iconic corporation.