Minaki Lodge formerly part of the chain of Canadian National Hotels

Canadian National Hotels

Canadian National Hotels was a hotel chain under control by Canadian National Railways. In addition to their own hotels, it acquired some from rival railway companies like the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, Grand Trunk Railway and Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway...

 was originally built in 1914 by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway

Grand Trunk Pacific Railway

The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was a historical Canadian railway.A wholly owned subsidiary of the Grand Trunk Railway , the GTPR was constructed by GTR using loans provided by the Government of Canada. The company was formed in 1903 with a mandate to build west from Winnipeg, Manitoba to the...

 (GTPR). Located on the route of the National Transcontinental Railway

National Transcontinental Railway

The National Transcontinental Railway was a historic Canadian railway between Winnipeg and Moncton. Much of the line is now operated by the Canadian National Railway.-The Grand Trunk partnership:...

 (NTR) at Minaki, Ontario

Minaki, Ontario

Minaki is an unincorporated area and community in Unorganized Kenora District in northwestern Ontario, Canada. It is located at the point where the Canadian National Railways transcontinental main line crosses the Winnipeg River, between Wade to the west and Ena Lake at the east, and was...

, between Sioux Lookout

Sioux Lookout, Ontario

Sioux Lookout is a town in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. It has a population of 5,336 and an elevation of 1280 ft / 390 m. Known locally as the "Hub of the North", it is serviced by the Sioux Lookout Airport, Highway 72, and the Sioux Lookout railway station...

 and Winnipeg

Winnipeg

Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...

, where the railway crosses the Winnipeg River

Winnipeg River

The Winnipeg River is a Canadian river which flows from Lake of the Woods in the province of Ontario to Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba. This river is long from the Norman Dam in Kenora to its mouth at Lake Winnipeg. Its watershed is in area, mainly in Canada. About of this area is in northern...

, this rustic resort hotel named Minaki Lodge and the railway station also called Minaki , is an Ojibwa word that has been variously translated as Beautiful Water or Good Land.

The NTR and GTPR went bankrupt and were nationalized as part of the Canadian National Railway

Canadian National Railway

The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....

s. CNR president Sir Henry Thornton

Henry Thornton (railway manager)

Also in 1894, Thornton began his career in the railroad business, entering as a draftsman of the Pennsylvania Railroad. He was based in the Pittsburgh office. He was promoted to supervisory engineer in 1899 and District Superintendent in 1901. As he climbed rapidly through the PRR hierarchy, he...

 rebuilt the hotel on a more lavish scale, but it burned down as it was about to open in 1925. Undaunted, he rebuilt it on an even more lavish scale using Scottish stonemasons, Swedish lot cutters and English gardeners to build and landscape a soaring granite and log building that opened in 1927. Thirty trainloads of soil were brought from a farm in Manitoba to build a golf course on the rock of the Canadian Shield

Canadian Shield

The Canadian Shield, also called the Laurentian Plateau, or Bouclier Canadien , is a vast geological shield covered by a thin layer of soil that forms the nucleus of the North American or Laurentia craton. It is an area mostly composed of igneous rock which relates to its long volcanic history...

.

Minaki Lodge remained a luxurious resort until after the Second World War

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, but travel patterns changed and the railway, emphasizing freight and no longer interested in attracting passenger traffic, sold it in the early 1950s. Over the next 50 years the hotel passed through many hands and many renovations. The Ontario government owned it for some years and spent an estimated $50-million on upgrading it, only to sell it to a hotel chain for $4-million. The Conservative

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada

The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....

 government that spent most of the money called the resort The Jewel of the North. Opposition Liberal

Ontario Liberal Party

The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...

 and New Democratic Party

New Democratic Party

The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...

 politicians called it a boondoggle and a sinkhole. Owners since then have included a nearby Indian band, a Texan speculator and a Calgary, Alberta, real estate developer. The main building, which was not insured, burned to the ground in a spectacular fire in October, 2003, and the resort has not operated since. The resort's 9-hole golf course has been tended only sporadically in recent years.

Sources

• Historic lodge uninsured, Globe and Mail, Oct 14, 2003, Lavish lodge was product of grand dreams, Globe and Mail, Toronto, Oct 13, 2003.
• The mystery of Minaki, Globe and Mail editorial, Jan 9, 1986
• $48 million later Minaki Lodge is open, Globe and Mail, July 16, 1983
• Can't sell it, Ontario to renovate its white elephant, Globe and Mail, July 6, 1978