At the time the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) ran primarily westward from Fort William on Lake Superior, providing lake port access to the Canadian west. Grain shipments on the lakes were a major source of income, but the ships could only reach as far as Lake Erie, as the canal between Lake Erie and Ontario was, at that time, quite small. Moreover, the St. Lawrence passed through the Lachine Rapids at Montreal, which meant that loading back onto ships had to take place in Montreal or further east. This led to burgeoning business at ports on Georgian Bay for trans-shipment by rail to the east, but all of the lines in the area ran south, through Toronto, which was already heavily congested.