FWIW, both the CPR and CNR's steam operations essentially ended after April 1960. Any steam use after that by the dominant two railways in this country could be described as being excursion related (there may have been a handful CPR trips in the summer of 1960).
Dave Nelson writes:
>- I understand opinions vary on when the steam era ended. I think <=1956
is
>generous.
It is commonly regarded by the more formal historian and professional museum community that the end of the steam era was 1960. The late 1950s still saw some Class 1 steam, while the 1960s saw steam only on a few short lines and in Canada. Rolling stock, too, made a big leap in the 1960s, as Richard pointed out.