As cities expanded, it became increasingly difficult for workers to get to their jobs on foot. To have an electric street car system became a matter of civic pride, but general agreement on how it should be run was lacking. In Regina the Trades and Labor Council made public ownership and control of this important utility one of its primary civic objectives. As in most cities, the ruling elite in control of city council would have preferred to have the street car system operated as a private business subsidized by the public purse. In the "Queen's city," however, the labour view prevailed. The Regina Municipal Railway was publicly owned and operated from the start.
Regina's first street car is shown here on inauguration day 28 July 1911 in front of the city hall. Note that advertising appeared even on early street cars and that the city hall was the embodiment of what was considered beautiful during the first decade of the twentieth century.
