During his sojourn in Chicago Mr. Angus became acquainted with the spirit of the great west and what it was hoped might be accomplished there. He saw the states of Illinois and Iowa budding forth from prairie to splendidly developed communities and reasoning by analogy he recognized what the future had in store for the Canadian west following the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The splendid financial standing of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company today is also in a measure due to the wisdom of this man, whom no doubt Sir Thomas Shaughnessy considers one of his wisest counsellors.
In 1864 Mr. Angus returned to Montreal to become second assistant manager of the Bank of Montreal, was later appointed assistant manager and became manager in 1868. In 1869, or two years after the union of the British North American colonies, Mr. Angus was appointed general manager of the Bank of Montreal, a position which he held until November 1, 1879. It is said that during these ten years his advice was sought many times by the different finance ministers of the Dominion not only as regards federal loans but also concerning the general financial policy of the country. Although a native of Scotland, where free trade exists, Mr. Angus looked with favor upon the protectionist program, which triumphed in Canada on the 18th of September, 1878. He saw therein a means whereby the Dominion could become a great manufacturing country, and he has lived long enough to see the splendid fruition of that policy.
After his ten years’ tenure of office as general manager of the Bank of Montreal Mr. Angus was called to another sphere of usefulness. When several prominent men connected with the Bank of Montreal bought out the Dutch interests in what was then called the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway, those interested, realizing the ability of Mr. Angus as a financier and organizer, asked him to leave the bank and become the representative of their interests in St. Paul. Accepting the management of the railway, his great success during the two years of his residence in the American northwest has become a part of the history not only of the American but also of the Canadian northwest. Mr. Angus was one of the first promoters of the Canadian Pacific Railway. He was among the earliest to recognize the stupendous success which would attend the project if there was carried out an enlightened policy of settlement and industrial expansion. A syndicate was formed, with Mr. George Stephen, later Lord Mount Stephen, and Mr. Donald A. Smith, later Lord Strathcona, as its leading spirits. Mr. Angus was one of the original body and he has remained in connection with the incorporated company ever since as one of its directors. He advised upon the strategic points where the chief entrenchments of the first transcontinental road should be laid out and he pointed out the spots where the Bank of Montreal could most effectively plant its branches. This policy of his had a great deal to do with the expansion which has brought the capitalization of the Bank of Montreal and the Canadian Pacific Railway up to the present colossal figures.