With the completion of the Ottawa to Vermont section, Booth began looking westward from Ottawa, not only to transport logs year-round to his Ottawa lumber mills, but also to take advantage of the increasing grain production on the prairies which was destined for eastern North American and European markets. By building through to an appropriate harbour on Georgian Bay for the receiving of Great Lake steamers, Booth could avoid the large expense of building a land-line through the rough and uninhabited terrain north of Lake Huron and Lake Superior.