Canoe River Train Crash

Date: November 21, 1950 • Location: Grande Cache, Canada

Two trains collided near Valemount, Canada, killing 21 people; the subsequent trial brought future prime minister John Diefenbaker to greater political attention.

The Canoe River train crash occurred on November 21, 1950, near Valemount in eastern British Columbia, Canada, when a westbound troop train and the eastbound Canadian National Railway (CNR) Continental Limited collided head-on. The collision killed 21 people: 17 Canadian soldiers en route to the Korean War and the two-man locomotive crew of each train.