The Pacific Scandal is a political scandal in Canada involving allegations of bribes being accepted by members of the Conservative government in the attempts of private interests to influence the bidding for a national rail contract.
As part of British Columbia's 1871 agreement to join Canadian Confederation, the government had agreed to build the Canadian Pacific Railway, a transcontinental railway linking the Pacific Province to the eastern provinces.
The proposed rail project, when completed, is the most intensive and ambitious of its kind ever undertaken to date.
However, as a new nation with limited capital resources, financing for the project is sought after both at home and abroad, naturally attracting interest from Great Britain and the United States.The scandal ultimately leads to the resignation of Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, and a transfer of power from his Conservative government to a Liberal government led by Alexander Mackenzie.
One of the new government's first measures is to introduce secret ballots in an effort to improve the integrity of future elections.
