History of Manitoba - Province of Manitoba

Province of Manitoba

Rupert's Land was ceded to Canada in 1869 and incorporated into the Northwest Territories. The Métis of Manitoba, seeing their concerns ignored by the new authority, launched the Red River Rebellion under Louis Riel, and established a provisional government. Negotiations between the provisional government and the Canadian government resulted in the passage of the Manitoba Act which created the Province of Manitoba and provided for its entry into Confederation in 1870. Louis Riel was pursued by British army officer Garnet Wolseley because of the rebellion, and Riel fled into exile.

The new Provincial government was controlled by Anglo Canadians. The agreement for the establishment of the Province had included guarantees that the Métis would receive grants of land and that their existing unofficial landholdings would be recognized. These guarantees were largely ignored. Instead, land went to Anglo settlers now coming in from Ontario. Facing this discrimination, the Métis moved in large numbers to what would become Saskatchewan and Alberta.

The original province of Manitoba was a square 1/18 of its current size, and was known as the "postage stamp province". Its borders were expanded in 1881, but Ontario claimed a large portion of the land; the disputed portion was awarded to Ontario in 1889. Manitoba grew progressively, absorbing land from the Northwest Territories until it attained its current size by reaching 60°N in 1912.

In 1875, a group of Icelandic immigrants settled in Gimli, on the west shore of Lake Winnipeg, founding the community of New Iceland. This was the largest settlement of Icelanders outside of that country.

Numbered Treaties were signed in the late 19th century with the chiefs of various First Nations that lived in the area. These treaties made specific promises of land for every family. As a result, a reserve system was established under the jurisdiction of the Federal Government. The prescribed amount of land promised to the native peoples was not always given; this led to efforts by aboriginal groups to assert rights to the land through aboriginal land claims, many of which are still ongoing.