The 45th anniversary of the horrific CPR bus crash

This year marks the 45th anniversary of the horrific Canadian Pacific Railway bus crash that occurred near Webb,Saskatchewan on May 28.

A memorial plaque is located on the north side of Highway #1, about four kilometers west of the village.

The marker represents the area where 30 members of the “Prairie Steel” gang, who had been laying tracks for the railroad, got on a bus planning to head home but ended up in an accident. Unfortunately, 22 of the young men on the bus never made it home and were killed in the late May afternoon accident. The memorial also represents those who survived.

It was on that fateful day in 1980 that these young men, who had been working for the CPR, were involved in one of the worst accidents in Canadian history, and still to this day the deadliest crash in Saskatchewan history.

The accident began as a result of a three-vehicle collision involving the bus (carrying the CPR workers and the driver), a car with two occupants, and a semi-truck with the driver.

The bus was sideswiped by the car, causing it to flip onto its side. The bus was then hit by the tanker, which was carrying liquid asphalt, and a fire broke out. The accident killed the bus driver and the majority of the bus occupants.

The destruction was so severe that Fairview Arena in Swift Current was turned into a temporary morgue.

However, there were survivors, including the occupants of the car and the semi-truck driver. Six members of the bus crash also survived, although the number is now down to five with the passing of accident survivor Gerald Synard in 2023.

While there were plans for the 40th anniversary, none have been made for the 45th as of recent. The Teamsters office in Regina, who last marked the anniversary in 2020, had not currently planned anything. Some of the survivors of the bus crash were reached out to in Newfoundland for comment but had no response.

This story was originally published in The Shaunavon Standard. It is republished under a Creative Commons license as part of the Local Journalism Initiative.