The fonds consists of articles of association and bylaws (1882-1964); minutes (1882-1965); annual reports (1883-1968); legal documents and agreements (1882-1914); shareholders' records (1882-1966); records of townsite sales (1882-1910); records of farmland sales (1882-1968); applications and contracts with individual purchasers (1917-1934); registers of deeds transfers (1883-1977); some land examination records (1913-1927); correspondence of the Land Commissioner, especially Virginie Smith (1887-1977); financial records including cashbooks, journals and ledgers (1882-1968); and records related to mineral rights and oil and gas leases (1930-1969). Includes records of the company's affiliate, Western Provinces Land Company (1925-1969).

These land examination reports were prepared by CPR's Land Inspectors, and include the following elements (not necessarily all of them in any single report), which helped the railway determine the value of the land, and what price they should charge for it: average grade; nearest railway station; elevators; nationality of nearest settlers; type of farming in district; nearest creamery, post office, school, church; average rainfall; area of arable land; soil type; timber cover; surface water and well depth; grass and hay cover; stone and coal in district; improvements made; and general remarks.