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About
About the Documentary: "Chasing the Trans-Canadian Dream"
Logline/Key Creative Message
On August 27, 1912, a stubborn British travel writer with a flair for drama and an unflappable mechanic with nerves of steel set out to drive from Halifax to Vancouver Island across a barely mapped and passable Canada. Their carriage? A REO Special Touring Car, affectionately dubbed the "Pathfinder."
They traveled 6,759 kilometers (4,200 miles) of wilderness and mud in 52 days. There was no GPS, just sheer will, shovels, ropes, and block-and-tackle. They called it the "All-Red Route" and a dream of a coast-to-coast highway connecting the country from ocean to ocean.
Tagline
"How Rough Roads and Grand Visions Changed a New Nation"
Summary
In an era when most Canadians had never left their home province, Thomas Wilby and Jack Haney climbed aboard a REO Special Touring Car to prove that Canada could be crossed by automobile. What followed was a grueling, mud-caked, history-making journey across rivers without bridges, mountains without roads, and a country still defining itself.
Their adventure was a test of endurance and a bold act of nation-building. "Chasing the Trans-Canadian Dream" dives into the drama, danger, and determination of Wilby and Haney's expedition, from axle-deep bogs in Northern Ontario to mountain passes barely suitable for horses. Along the way, the film reveals how this quixotic mission helped stitch together a sprawling landscape and fueled the dream of a connected Canada—decades before the Trans-Canada Highway was finally completed in 1971.
Drawing on diaries, historic photos, and reenactments—including a 1997 retracing of the route—the documentary captures the romance of early motoring, the grit of Canadian pioneers, and the grand vision that changed how Canadians saw their country.