During the official ceremony on September 11, 1905 at Fort William, Ontario, Prime Minister Laurier turned the first sod for the construction of the GTPR, though the actual first sod occurred the previous month about south of Carberry, Manitoba. From the former, the GTPR built a section of track, connecting with the NTR near Sioux Lookout. The route paralleled the CPR for west of Winnipeg, before veering northwest. Beginning the year that the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan were established, the line proceeded west to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 1907, Edmonton, Alberta in 1909, and Wolf Creek in 1910. For contractual purposes, Winnipeg to Wolf Creek (Edson, Alberta) was the Prairie Section, and Wolf Creek to the Pacific was the Mountain Section. Foley, Welch and Stewart (FW&S) was selected as the prime contractor for the latter.