 Many politicians saw expansion as the Nation's inevitable right  Expansion into the interior of Canada would be GREAT financially  They could achieve a cross-continental railway system like the United States of America  Needed more territory for new settlers to the country

 Started as a Fur Trading Post for the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC)  A vast majority of the population were Métis  The Government of Canada began to build roads connecting Ontario with the Red River Settlement to ensure commercial success when the Settlement joined Canada

 A deal was worked out between the Canadian government, British government and the HBC where Canada was now in charge of the Red River Settlement  This agreement was made without informing the locals of the Red River Settlement  This made the people very suspicious of this new government  The Métis were concerned because:  The speed at which the Canadian Government build roads and set surveyors  The road-making party began to quarrel with the Métis population  The rush suggested that Canadian settlement would disperse the existing population without regard for their rights and that they would steal the land from them

 The Métis Leader Louis Riel decided to fight this expansion  Riel would not allow William McDougall into the province, he was sent by the Canadian government to govern the Red River Settlement  He also forcefully took over the HBC headquarters and kidnapped 48 Canadians as prisoners and he ended up executing one of the prisoners without a trial

 The Métis sent three delegates to Ottawa and when they returned with the Manitoba Act  This Act granted provincial status for Manitoba and guaranteed the rights of Métis in the region  However, the Canadian government sent their military forces into Manitoba to ensure this new province would be a peaceful one and to capturethe ‘criminal’ Louis Riel  He was sent into exile into the united States, and later caught and executed for treason and murder

 British Columbia was used by the HBC and was almost entirely populated by Native Canadians  The character of the region changed drastically with the Fraser River gold rush of 1858  Consequently, the population of Fort Victoria rose from around 500 to more than 5000  The period of prosperity was short-lived: by the mid-1860s the gold rush had collapsed, sinking British Columbia into a painful recession

 Entrance into Confederation would introduce responsible government and resolve the provinces massive debts created by building too many roads during the Gold Rush  The United States bought Alaska off of Russia, and many reports in the U.S. were claiming the same would be done to British Columbia  The Canadian Government bought Rupert’s Land from the HBC, which means they owned land from Atlantic to Pacific  BC saw this, combined with a cross-continental railway, as very important for trade and financial gain for their province Frederick Seymour Arthur Kennedy

 British Columbia would have responsible government  Their massive debt would be wiped out  Subsidies and grants would be given to them to help run their already created naval ports  And of course they would be an important part of the cross- continental railway

 The Yukon was also used by the HBC before it joined with confederation to hunt for furs  The Yukon’s population was almost entirely Native Canadians  There were many disputes over the Yukon area between the Canadian government and the Russian, and later, the American government

 The Canadian Government neglected its holdings in the North, and this neglect ended with the discovery of gold  In the 1890’s vast deposits of gold were found in the Yukon especially near the Klondike River  When news of the discovery reached the outside world in 1897, it seemed as though half of North America dropped what it was doing to head for northern Canada

 After the Gold Rush the Canadian government saw the economic help the Yukon could offer to Canada  Also lawless communities began to spring up all around the Yukon were the laws were not abided by and no duties were paid when bringing this “Canadian” gold back to the United States  The Canadians needed to gain the benefits from the Yukon along with stopping the lawlessness

 With the booming population and the valuable resource of gold as a major industry the Yukon became a Canadian territory in 1898  Government officials began to run the territory and responsible government was created in the territory  However after the gold rush most of the population moved to Alaska and many Saloons and dance halls closed down hurting the overall economy

 Before joining confederation they were a part of Rupert's Land, which was owned by Canada but had no responsible government or rights in the government of Canada  Both the areas where Alberta and Saskatchewan are today supplied most of Canada with its wheat and other cereal grains  They were also exporting it to other countries and the Canadian Government was making a lot of money off the grains

 Not only did the Prairie areas of Rupert’s land have great economic opportunities in grain, but towns, mining centres, logging camps, cattle ranches and railway construction sites also began to boom  In January 1905, diplomats from Rupert Land arrived in Ottawa to start negotiations and after these talks territorial self-government was within reach  The first idea was to make one huge province, however the Canadian government thought it would be much too hard to govern  On September 1st, 1905, the Saskatchewan Act and the Alberta Act were adopted by the Canadian government and two new provinces joined Canada

 Many Natives were displaced and moved to different locations when each province joined Canada  Many were moved to make way for European settlers who would work the land, build railways and establish cities  Many Native customs were destroyed as the Canadian government tried to assimilate the Native peoples  Native rights and customs were not taken into consideration when clearing land for cities, the railway systems, and roads

 Tens of thousands of Chinese workers came to Canada to work on the railways. Many Chinese died during its construction  They were vastly underpaid compared to their white, native and black counterparts  After the railway was complete the Chinese workers did not have jobs creating much tension  An immigration tax was placed on any Chinese immigrant to stop the influx of Chinese immigration into Canada  Chinese Canadians were also refused the vote and it was only until 1947 where they were given full citizenship