Who led the Métis armed uprising at Red River in 1869 and was later executed for high treason after a second rebellion in 1885?
- Big Bear
- Joseph Brant
- Louis Riel
- Sir Sam Steele
Answer: Louis Riel
When Canada took over the northwest from the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1869, the 12,000 Métis of the Red River were not consulted. Louis Riel led an armed uprising and seized Fort Garry. After a second rebellion in 1885 in present-day Saskatchewan, Riel was tried and executed for high treason, a decision strongly opposed in Quebec.
Learn more: Building the Dominion and the challenge in the West
- Provinces and territories joined in this order: 1867 Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick; 1870 Manitoba and the Northwest Territories; 1871 British Columbia; 1873 Prince Edward Island; 1898 Yukon Territory; 1905 Alberta and Saskatchewan; 1949 Newfoundland and Labrador; 1999 Nunavut.
- In 1880 the Arctic Islands were transferred to the Northwest Territories.
- Sir Leonard Tilley, a Father of Confederation from New Brunswick, suggested the term Dominion of Canada in 1864.
- Sir John A. Macdonald, born in Scotland on January 11, 1815, became Canada’s first prime minister in 1867. His portrait was on the $10 bill until 2018.
- Sir George-Étienne Cartier, a Montreal railway lawyer, was the key architect of Confederation from Quebec and helped negotiate the entry of the Northwest Territories, Manitoba and British Columbia.
- In 1869 Canada took over the vast northwest region from the Hudson’s Bay Company. The 12,000 Métis of Red River were not consulted.
- Louis Riel led an armed uprising and seized Fort Garry, the territorial capital. Ottawa sent soldiers to retake it in 1870, Riel fled to the United States, and Manitoba was created in 1870.
- In 1885 a second rebellion in present-day Saskatchewan led to Riel’s trial and execution for high treason, a decision strongly opposed in Quebec.
- Many see Louis Riel as a hero, a defender of Métis rights and the father of Manitoba. Gabriel Dumont was the Métis’ greatest military leader.
- Prime Minister Macdonald created the North West Mounted Police (NWMP) in 1873 to pacify the West and help in negotiations with the Indians. It founded Fort Calgary, Fort MacLeod and other centres, and 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.
- Major General Sir Sam Steele was a frontier hero, Mounted Policeman and soldier who came from the ranks of the Mounties.