The Invisible Empire: A History of the Telecommunications Industry in Canada, 1846-1956

Paul G. Thomas is the Duff Roblin Professor of Government at the
University of Manitoba, the author of Parliamentary Reform Through
Political Parties, and the coauthor of Canadian Public Administration:
Problematical Perspectives.

Communications has always been central to Canada’s existence as an
integrated and distinctive country alongside of the United States. This
book traces the development of telegraphy, telephony, and radio, with
careful attention paid to the economic, social, and political impacts of
the evolving technologies.

Telegraphy began in 1846. Unbridled competition prevailed during the
first decade before two companies—Montreal Telegraph and Dominion
Telegraph—settled into a two-way fight for economic supremacy. The
battle spilled over into telephony. In 1877, the first telephone
subscribers in Canada were three businessmen in Hamilton. Companies like
Bell Canada, which eventually became dominant in most parts of the
country, focused on the commercial uses of telephones and actively
discouraged the social use of the telephone, both because the exchanges
could not handle the volumes and because providing residential service
was unprofitable. Government regulation of the industry began in 1906,
when the federal Railway Commission launched a “new era of economic
democracy,” which eventually achieved the goal of universal service.
Rural areas were slower to receive telephone service and there are
thousands of rural subscribers who are still on party lines. The
Canadian regulatory model, which saw commercial and long-distance users
pay for the cost of local service, became the paradigm for the U.S.
approach.

Throughout the book, readers are introduced to the individuals who led
the telecommunications revolution. Alexander Graham Bell (the book
covers the controversy over whether he was Canadian or American) is a
familiar figure, but few of us will have heard of Frederick Gisborne,
Charles Sise, Cyrille Duquet, and Frances Dagger. The book represents
original and impressive scholarship. There are wonderful black-and-white
photographs sprinkled throughout, including posters instructing
customers on how to dial “the automatic telephone” and cautioning
them not to abuse the privilege. The author is a former Bell Canada and
Quebec government executive.