When the National Transcontinental Railway's link to the BC coast was proposed, its expected course was through what became Grande Prairie, then southwest through the Wapiti Pass and what became Hansard. Although the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (GTP) surveyed the same pass during 1904-1906, the Yellowhead Pass was the final choice. Subsequently, a series of different proposals to route a line via the Monkman Pass and Hansard never eventuated.