You can tour these mysterious Canadian tunnels that once hosted Al Capone

Beneath the streets of downtown Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan lies tunnels filled with plenty of Canadian history. Some of it is dark, some of it is spooky, but all of it is very interesting.

The Tunnels of Moose Jaw

Back in 1908, a massive system of tunnels was built beneath Moose Jaw in order to set the city up with steam power. Instead, the plan was scrapped, and an entirely new world moved into the underground. Now, before we dive into what exactly went on down there, it’s important to note that these tunnels were not only closed but their existence was denied by city officials for decades.

In fact, the city denied rumours for around 75 years until the excavations began uncovering them later in the 20th century. Now, this underground maze has become a tourist hotspot, with hundreds of thousands of visitors passing through their storied passageways.

Enough backstory, let’s get into it!

Initially, the tunnels were filled and constructed further by Chinese immigrants who were escaping the infamous head tax on Chinese immigrants. Unable to pay the tax and afraid of persecution, Chinese rail workers went underground. Literally.

They expanded the tunnels and went so far as to live below ground, with some even raising families. Oftentimes, the tunnels would be accessed through above-ground shops owned by legal Chinese immigrants, shops in which the underground population could work. Obviously, this was a dark period in Canadian history.

Then, the 1920s rolled around and the bootlegging of booze became a massive enterprise. Thus, a new use for the Moose Jaw tunnels was born, as they became a haven for bootleggin’ gangsters.

That’s right, folks! Tales of Al Capone getting a local barber to come into the tunnels to cut his hair, along with plenty of stories of Capone’s right-hand-man, ‘Diamond’ Jim Brady , have risen over the years.

Apparently, it was well known that the Moose Jaw police force was in cahoots with the bootleggers and many young Moose Javians became messengers running up-and-down from the tunnels to deliver distribution messages. Wow, what a time to be alive.

Sure enough, you can take tours of both of these tales with the Tunnels of Moose Jaw. They’ll tell you about Al Capone’s bootlegging stories during the Chicago Connection tour along with detailing the hard times of early Chinese Immigrants in the Passage of Fortune tour.

As if you needed any more reasons to go to Moose Jaw!