Manitoba Becomes a Province!! 1869-1870 Louis Riel and the creation of Manitoba “The Postage Stamp Province”

The creation of Manitoba as a province was not planned, but merely evolved out of the government desire to spread westward. (Go West!) The Hudson Bay Company agreed to sell much of its northwest territory to the Canadian Gov’t for fee of $1,500,000. With the HBC retaining 45,000 acres of land. The official date of land transfer was to be December 1, 1869

At the time, the population consisted primarily of French Métis At the time, the population consisted primarily of French Métis. In fact, out of a population of 12,000, only 2,000 were English and the rest were Métis. A group within the English minority called themselves the Canadian Party. They were situated in Portage La Prairie. The Canadian Party welcomed the land transfer because they believed that more eastern migration would eventually turn their minority status into a majority status.

The Métis, on the other hand, were not quite as enthusiastic about the land transfer. Their reasons were more out of fear of losing cultural aspects of their life such as: a) Language= French speaking b) religion = Catholic practices c) land rights = no longer being nomadic

Events would heat up in the next couple of months as a man by the name of Louis Riel, a 25 year old Métis, born in St. Boniface and educated in Montreal would take up the Métis cause.

MB becomes a province II One of the first tactics that Riel used to get the attention of the federal government was to set up a blockade at the American border to not allow surveyors in. The National Committee of Metis, arrived at Pembina and blocked William McDougall the Lieutenant Governor of the Northwest.

II Cont. Needless to say, Riel gained the governments attention, but there was more to come from Riel…. Riel seized Upper Fort Garry, currently in Winnipeg, and established a Provisional Government. The Provisional Govt. did not wish to hinder the land transfer, but rather establish a “bill of rights” for the inhabitants already living there.

II cont. When December 1, 1869 rolled around, McDougall attempted to stake the federal claim to the land, but it was to no avail…  Prime Minister John A Macdonald wanted to delay the transfer so that negotiations could drag out… William MacTavish , the head of the HBC, did not want to delay. MacTavish released his authority of the land. The Metis, in effect, were now Macdonald’s problem.

II Cont. The Negotiations now had a sense of urgency, and Macdonald would send Donald Smith to Fort Garry to negotiate on behalf of the Federal Govt.

MB becomes a Province III Essentially, the Provisional Govt. was trying to negotiate a “bill of rights” on the following key issues: a) English and French are recognized as common languages in the Legislature and the courts b) The Lieutenant Governor be astute in both French and English language. c) The judge of the supreme court is fluent in both French and English d) A free homestead law.

Cont. III A peaceful solution seemed to be developing. In fact on January 20th, 1870, open communication had developed between Smith and the public at Fort Garry. (Riel also had let his ‘hostages’ go…) The peace process , however would quickly evaporate…  A group of armed soldiers from the Canadian party attacked the fort…The group was lead by Thomas Scott. 48 members of the Canadian party , including Scott were taken as prisoners.

Cont. III On March 4, 1870, Thomas Scott was executed. The death of an Ontario man at Metis hands was to bring up a huge uproar from the rest of Canada. The execution of Scott forced Macdonald to send troops out west to capture Riel. Riel escaped to the United States and the Provisional Government came to an end….

MB becomes a province IV Even though Riel was in the United States, the negotiations carried out with Smith were realized in the form of the Manitoba Act. On May 12, 1870 the act was passed. On July 15, 1870, the bill went into effect creating the province of Manitoba. Manitoba’s boundaries were only a fraction of what they are today. The boundary extended about as far North as the Interlake region, as far east as the Whiteshell , and as far west as Brandon.

Cont. IV Riel would actually win an election to represent Manitoba in the House of Commons. Of course if he ever showed his face in Ottawa, he would be met by an angry mob….. Riel remained in the United States (Montana) where he was a schoolteacher. He would not re-surface in Canada until 1884……..