When the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed in 1885, Britain viewed it as a colonial contribution to imperial military and naval strength. The railway would reduce the threat of attack from the United States; it could be used to quell "internal disturbances" (as in the 1885 North West Rebellion); and it was the quickest colonial route to eastern possessions. As this 1886 report from the Imperial War Office indicates, Britain valued its colonial possessions largely for their ability to reinforce the power of the Empire.