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Expansion of the Dominion
1867
– Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia,
New Brunswick
1870
– Manitoba, Northwest Territories
1871
– British Columbia
1873
– Prince Edward Island
1880
– Transfer of the Arctic Islands (to N.W.T.)
1898
– Yukon Territory
1905
– Alberta, Saskatchewan
1949
– Newfoundland and Labrador
1999
– Nunavut
Did you know?
In the 1920s, some believed
that the British West Indies (British territories
in the Caribbean Sea) should become part of
Canada. This did not occur, though Canada
and Commonwealth Caribbean countries and
territories enjoy close ties today.
Canada’s First Prime Minister
In 1867,
Sir John Alexander Macdonald
, a Father
of Confederation, became Canada’s first Prime
Minister. Born in Scotland on January 11, 1815,
he came to Upper Canada as a child. He was a
lawyer in Kingston, Ontario, a gifted politician
and a colourful personality. Parliament has
recognized January 11 as Sir John A. Macdonald
Day. His portrait is on the $10 bill.
Sir George-Étienne Cartier
was the key architect
of Confederation from Quebec. A railway lawyer,
Montrealer, close ally of Macdonald and patriotic
Canadien
, Cartier led Quebec into Confederation
and helped negotiate the entry of the Northwest
Territories, Manitoba and British Columbia into
Canada.
Sir John A. Macdonald,
the first Prime Minister of
the Dominion of Canada
19
Discover Canada
Challenge in the west
When Canada took over the vast northwest region
from the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1869, the
12,000 Métis of the Red River were not consulted.
In response, Louis Riel led an armed uprising and
seized Fort Garry, the territorial capital. Canada’s
future was in jeopardy. How could the Dominion
reach from sea to sea if it could not control the
interior?
Ottawa sent soldiers to retake Fort Garry in
1870. Riel fled to the United States and Canada
established a new province: Manitoba. Riel was
elected to Parliament but never took his seat.
Later, as Métis and Indian rights were again
threatened by westward settlement, a second
rebellion in 1885 in present-day Saskatchewan
led to Riel’s trial and execution for high treason,
a decision that was strongly opposed in Quebec.
Riel is seen by many as a hero, a defender of
Métis rights and the father of Manitoba.
After the first Métis uprising, Prime Minister
Macdonald established the North West Mounted
Police (NWMP) in 1873 to pacify the West and
assist in negotiations with the Indians. The
NWMP founded Fort Calgary, Fort MacLeod and
other centres that today are cities and towns.
Regina became its headquarters. Today, the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP or “the
Mounties”) are the national police force and
one of Canada’s best-known symbols. Some of
Canada’s most colourful heroes, such as Major-
General Sir Sam Steele, came from the ranks of
the Mounties.
(From Left to Right)
Fort Garry, 1863: the flag of the Hudson’s Bay Company flew
over Western Canada for 200 years before Confederation
Sir Sam Steele: A great frontier hero, Mounted Policeman and
soldier of the Queen
Métis Resistance: Gabriel Dumont was the Métis’ greatest
military leader