Manitoba and Confederation

Louis Riel and the Metis

Prior to Confederation, the Canadian government had fully explored the prairie region looking for the best farmland and areas to settle. In 1869, Macdonald arranged the purchase of Rupert’s Land from the Hudson Bay Company for the price of 1.5 million dollars. The North-West Territories were formed. With one purchase, Canada had increased in size by six times! While purchasing the land, Macdonald had virtually ignored the mixture of people living in the Red River area. It was a mistake he would regret making.

In the 1800s, the Red River area was an odd collection of people. At first, the area was settled by the Natives that hunted and fished the rivers and lakes. The presence of beaver furs meant that the area was visited by the voyageurs who traded with the Natives.Some of these voyageurs married Native women and had families. Their children, called Metis, were half French or English and half Native. They grew up living in a way that was part Native and part European. It also meant that they were often discriminated against by both the Natives for not being fully Native and the Europeans for being only half European. They ended up being Metis, not Native or European.

By 1811, other people had joined the area, travelling from Europe under the direction of Thomas Douglas, the Earl of Selkirk, who brought starving and landless crofters from Europe to the banks of the Red River. Crofters were farmers that had to rent the land they farmed on. These new immigrants were going to be farmers in the Red River area.More settlers arrived from Scotland in 1816. Early farming was difficult and their was conflict between the farmers and the Metis. But by 1821, peace had arrived.The Red River area now consisted of French speaking Metis, English speaking Metis, Natives and different Europeans all living near the banks of the Red River. They were far enough away from the other people in Ontario and Quebec that no one really gave them any thought or problems.

Shattering the PeaceMost of the people who lived in the area were squatters, which means you don’t really own the land that you live on and farm. There were no papers or land deeds to show ownership, but everyone in the area respected every one else and where they farmed.In 1868, the people of Red River were in trouble. A terrible drought along with grasshoppers that ate their crops threatened the lives of the colonists. Who would help them?The Governor of the colony, John Schultz, appealed to Canada, USA and Britain for assistance. Officially, the land belonged to Canada, but the governor of Red River thought that USA might be interested in their land. There seemed to be three possibilities:

1. Join the United States who already had many people living just south of the Red River area in the province of Minnesota.

2. Become a British colony.3. Join Canada.In 1867, when Canada became a country, the leadership was already looking at British Columbia joining Canada. The railroad that would connect the province to the rest of Canada would have to be built through the Red River area. Nobody had asked the settlers of the Red River area what they thought of the idea…the people would find out…In 1868, surveying crews from Canada began to divide the Red River area into farms and decide where the railroad should go.

They paid no attention to the squatters and the Metis farms. Progress was coming through the Red River and the Metis were in the way!On October 11th 1869, a group of Metis stopped surveyors from entering a Metis farm. One of the men was Louis Riel.

Riel knew that strong leadership was needed for his area to stand up against the Canadian government. He had just returned from university in Quebec where he was training as a priest first, and then a lawyer. He never graduated from either program. He knew that the people in the Red River area were defenseless against the Canadian government. All of the people were looking to him for help.

Riel took charge of the situation and stopped the surveyors. He also put forth the Metis list of Rights: These rights were things that the people in the Red River area wanted for their province if Macdonald wanted Manitoba to be part of Canada.1. The right to respect for all

properties, rights and privileges enjoyed by the people of this Province.

2. The right to have both English and French languages in the courts

3. The right to have a Governor who speaks English and French

Riel’s provisional government

4. The right to have a judge of the Supreme Court speak English and French

5. The right to enter Confederation as a province

After this, Riel declared a provisional government (temporary government) to deal with the Canadian government directly. John A. Macdonald sent a negotiator to work with Riel to settle his demands.While this was happening, a group of about 600 men from Ontario talked about capturing Fort Garry which the Metis had captured earlier. Nothing came of it, but Riel heard about their plan and surrounded their meeting place and took them all hostage. All were eventually let go, all except Thomas Scott.

Thomas Scott

Thomas Scott belonged to the Orange Order, an anti- Catholic organization that had been banned in Britain but was still active in Canada. While he was captured, he constantly spoke out against the Metis and the Catholics. He was so disrespectful and racist that he was called the most hated man in the barracks. One day, Scott struck one of the Metis guards. To the Metis, this action was against their new government. Many of the Metis demanded he be put on trial for his racist attitude and for striking a guard.Riel agreed and Scott was put on trial and was sentenced to death the next day, March 4th.

No one knows for sure how the execution went, but the story goes that the firing squad did not do a good job. After they fired, Scott was badly injured but still alive. Riel walked up to Scott who lay dying and shot him in the head to finish the execution. Some say he also hid the body.

This single event caused a division across Canada. The people in Ontario and in the Maritime provinces thought Riel was a murderer. His provisional government was a made up government and he had no power or authority to execute a person.

The people in Quebec understood Riel and his attempts at trying to get respect. They knew that being French in a mostly English speaking country was difficult. They believed that Scott’s disrespectful actions warranted his execution. John A. Macdonald wanted Riel caught…but he also wanted the land around the Red River area secured for Canada so his railroad could be built.

John A. Macdonald sent negotiators to Red River to work on getting Manitoba into Canada. He also sent troops to the area to look for Louis Riel. The soldiers did not find Riel. Everyone else who could have been charged for Scott’s execution was given full amnesty (yes, you are guilty, but we won’t charge you). But Riel, his first helper Ambrose Lepine, and a Metis leader William O’Donoghue were not granted amnesty. The search was on for them.With other leaders working with Macdonald, Manitoba joined Confederation on September 6th 1870.

What happened to Riel? He escaped to the United States to avoid being caught by the authorities.

Many of the Metis who lived in the area did not like the new rules of being a province. They eventually moved away to Saskatchewan.

When Macdonald’s authorities moved into the area, the Metis decided it was time to contact Riel for more support and advice.

During this time, Riel was starting to show signs of a mental breakdown. He believed he was sent by God to lead the Metis. He tried to change the names of the days of the week. Some of his close supporters left him.

He did join the Metis in 1885 and started another provisional government. He led a rebellion against the Canadian government troops in Saskatchewan.

At the Battle of Bataohe, Riel and his men lost badly. Riel was caught and found guilty of rebellion against the government.

He was executed in Regina Saskatchewan on November 16, 1885.

The Battle of Batoche