Manitoba History
Manitoba marks a milestone 150 years since entering confederation! By Dorothy Dobbie
Portage and Main in Winnipeg 1872 showing settlers leaving for western Manitoba.
T
he year 2020 marks a big milestone in Manitoba’s history. It will be 150 years since Manitoba became the fifth province of Canada. Most Manitobans do not know their history and while there is not enough room here to tell it well, the Coles notes version follows. How can we properly celebrate what we don’t know or understand? Today, it is widely acknowledged 6 • Spring 2020
that without Louis Riel and his determination to protect the Metis way of life, Manitoba’s entry into Canada would have lagged for many years. Until 1868, the Hudson Bay Company owned the territory known as Rupert’s Land which had been granted by King Charles II in 1670 to his cousin Prince Rupert of Rhine. This vast area included all of Manitoba, most of Saskatchewan, southern Alberta, southern Nunavut, and
northern parts of Ontario and Quebec. The charter included parts of Minnesota, North Dakota and bits of Montana and South Dakota although the Hudson Bay Company’s accepted territory at time ended at the 49th parallel. In 1867, the same year as Canadian Confederation, the United State purchased Alaska from Russia. This prompted the Prime Minister of the new Dominion of Canada, John The Hub
