CPKC Holiday Train & The Regina Food Bank
During the holiday season, a special railway tour throughout North America occurs featuring lights, entertainment and plenty of charm - it is none other than the bright and cheerful Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) Holiday Train! Besides its exciting presence, the train has a nation wide mission each year to raise awareness for food insecurity and to promote goodwill by asking for donations to local foodbanks in lieu of payment for their performances. The tour consists of over 100 live performances within six Canadian provinces and 14 U.S. states and donations by the CPKC company are made at each stop in addition to the donations of the spectators. Read more to learn about the history of the train and the impressive contributions its made to local foodbanks during its years of operation!
On April 14 2023, the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Kansas City Southern Railway merged to create the first true North American railway network that connects Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.A. The Canadian Pacific Railway was founded in 1881 with George Stephens as the first acting president of the corporation. It was originally built to create a direct line of travel in Canada from coast to coast which would eventually include the U.S. Midwest. The Kansas City Southern Railway was founded by Arthur E. Stilwell in 1887 and was made to be a link between the northern and southern regions of the U.S.A. with a cross-border connection between the U.S.A. and Mexico. Together, the two railway networks form the only transnational railway, bringing numerous communities together in the process.
The Regina Foodbank was founded in 1982 and continues to save numerous lives of Regina citizens who suffer from food insecurity. The organizations’ services are consistently needed as their customer base appears to be growing. According to the Regina Leader Post, “The latest Regina Food Bank Annual Report, which highlights the numbers from April 2022 to March 2023, showed a 42 per cent increase in usage compared to last year, with clients accessing the service a total of 171,451 times. There were 16,402 people who used the food bank during this time, which is a 31 per cent increase”. With their expanded client base, acquiring a sufficient amount of donations has gotten increasingly difficult.
Approximately 80% of the food that the organization gives away is from the donations of retail partners such as Loblaw, Walmart, Co-Op, Sobeys and IGA. These companies willingly part with these food items since it would cost them more money to dispose of the product rather than just donating. The donations consist of food items that are near the end of their shelf life and can no longer be sold for their initial price. The Regina Foodbank solely relies on donations from Regina locals and businesses due to the fact that the organization does not receive any core funding from the provincial or federal government of Canada. The foodbanks’ level of reliance on the community is worsened when approximately 8-10% of donations are expired items and cannot be given to Regina Foodbank clients. When taking all this into consideration, it is clear why the Holiday Trains’ arrival is so important for the community and the Regina Foodbank. In the month of December, more volunteers and donations arrive to help the Regina Foodbank and that is partly due to the awareness that is caused by the Holiday Trains’ initiative.
To bring the crowds each year, the Holiday Train has hosted many performers such as Tenille Townes, Seaforth, Breland, Kiesza, Anyway Gang, Dallas Smith, Tyler Shaw, Mackenzie Porter, and Virginia to Vegas.
The Holiday Train’s inaugural journey occurred in 1999 and its production and operations have only grown since then. In 2023 alone, during the train’s 25th annual tour, $1.8 Million and 160,000 pounds of food were donated to local community foodbanks across Canada and the U.S.A. Since 1999, the train has raised over $24.3 Million and 5.3 Million pounds of donated food. This was achieved by over 455,000 visitors of the Holiday Train.
To support the Regina Foodbank, visit their website:
For more information about The Holiday Train, visit the official CPKC website: