Canadian Pacific Kansas City Holiday Train rolls into Saint John

The Canadian Pacific Kansas City Holiday Train has travelled across Canada and the United States for 25 years with its bright Christmas displays and festive vibe.

To kick off its 26th campaign, the locomotive found itself at TD Station in Saint John, N.B., Thursday. It was the first time the holiday train came to the Port City.

“It’s really cool and bright,” Dani Albert says. “10 out of 10.”

“It’s very incredible,” says Darrell Morehouse, who travelled down from the Oromocto area to see the train. “I’ve never seen anything like it and it’s a beautiful thing.”

The 45-minute stop in Saint John was highlighted by a free live concert featuring the James Barker Band and singer Clerel on the highly-decorated train stage.

The James Barker Band played a free live concert in Saint John, N.B., on Nov. 21, 2024. (Avery MacRae/CTV Atlantic)

From now to Dec. 20, the CPKC Holiday Train will tour Canada and the U.S. to not only spread Christmas spirit, but to raise money, food, and awareness to support food banks across the two countries.

Since its first journey in 1999, the festive express has raised over $24.3 million and collected around 5.3 million pounds of food for community foodbanks.

“Obviously it's the first time ever here in Saint John, but what I can say is other communities that we've been to in the last 26 years, it's one of their single-biggest fundraising events of the year,” says CPKC communications director André Hannoush. “It keeps them going for the next 12 months, so it's very important and we're very happy to be part of that effort to raise awareness and bring funds to the local food banks.”

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CPKC also makes a donation to the charity benefitting from the holiday train’s visit in every city and town it stops in.

The funds and food collected at the Saint John stop will benefit the Harbour Lights Campaign Inc. The non-profit helps coordinate fundraising for 16 different foodbanks in southwest New Brunswick on an annual basis, with the campaign primarily occurring during the holidays.

Harbour Lights campaign board chair Paula Copeland says they have raised over $3.8 million in 27 years. Last year alone, the non-profit collected over $300,000 for the first time in a single year.

“It's going to be a great event for the community,” Copeland said ahead of the train’s arrival. CPKC is so generous to do this for food banks right across the country and down into the United States and we are so pleased to have them here.”

A light display features Santa Claus on a rail car. (Avery MacRae/CTV Atlantic)

While Copeland didn’t have a set goal in mind for what she was hoping to raise through the event, she noted nearly $5,000 had been collected in just 24 hours prior to the event.

A Friday morning update from the campaign says Thursday night's event raised more than $32,000 and 5,082 pounds of food to Saint John foodbanks.

The holiday train’s final stop will be in Port Coquitlam, B.C., on Dec. 20. The full Canadian tour schedule can be found online.

Click here for more photos from the Saint John event.

For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.