In the year leading up to the making of "Northwest Passage" Stan had toured extensively through Canada's western provinces and he had soaked up the stories of the farmers and ex-pat Maritimers working the Alberta oil rigs. Those stories coalesced into many of the songs on this album. However certainly the best known song from the album is the title track Nothwest Passage which has gone on to become a Canadian anthem sung far and wide across the country.