Business acquisition - Pro Forma Information (Details) $ in Millions	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021	Apr. 13, 2023	Dec. 31, 2023 CAD ($)	Dec. 31, 2022 CAD ($)
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
KCS historical, revenue			$ 1,351	$ 4,390
Pro forma CPKC, revenue			13,909	13,217
KCS historical, net income attributable to controlling shareholders			280	1,287
Pro forma, net income attributable to controlling shareholders			$ 3,174	$ 4,153
Canada, Dollars
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Daily exchange rate used, revenue	1.28	1.35		1.30

Business Acquisition, Foreign Currency Exchange Rate, Translation, Revenue

No definition available.

Name:	cp_BusinessAcquisitionForeignCurrencyExchangeRateTranslationRevenue
Namespace Prefix:	cp_
Data Type:	xbrli:pureItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 20
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Section 50
-Paragraph 5
-Subparagraph (a)
-Publisher FASB
-URI https://asc.fasb.org//1943274/2147479907/805-20-50-5

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The pro forma net Income or Loss for the period as if the business combination or combinations had been completed at the beginning of a period.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 10
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (h)(2)
-Publisher FASB
-URI https://asc.fasb.org//1943274/2147479328/805-10-50-2

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 10
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (h)(3)
-Publisher FASB
-URI https://asc.fasb.org//1943274/2147479328/805-10-50-2

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionsProFormaNetIncomeLoss
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The pro forma revenue for a period as if the business combination or combinations had been completed at the beginning of the period.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionsProFormaRevenue
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

This element represents the amount of earnings or loss of the acquiree since the acquisition date included in the consolidated income statement for the reporting period.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (h)(1)
-Publisher FASB
-URI https://asc.fasb.org//1943274/2147479328/805-10-50-2

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessCombinationProFormaInformationEarningsOrLossOfAcquireeSinceAcquisitionDateActual
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

This element represents the amount of revenue of the acquiree since the acquisition date included in the consolidated income statement for the reporting period.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessCombinationProFormaInformationRevenueOfAcquireeSinceAcquisitionDateActual
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	srt_CurrencyAxis=currency_CAD
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: