The Fur Trade, and Rebellion and Reform

The colonization of the West resulted in the birth of the Metis people, the Red River Settlement, and the merging of the HBC and NWC. This merging of the companies affected the Indigenous peoples because it caused competition among the trading, which was a main source of income for the Indigenous peoples. Eventually the furs were decreasing which cause further interest in settling into Western Canada.

In 1791, the Constitutional Act was brought in to mediate with the Loyalists. This Act guaranteed that the colonies would remain independent, but still limit the weaknesses that independency brought along with it. This resulted in the Three-tiered system: Lieutenant Governor, Legislative Council, and House of Assembly. In 1809, Louis Joseph Papineau was elected to the Assembly of Lower Canada, elected leader of the Parti Patriote in 1827, and appointed as the leader of the Lower Canadian Rebellion in 1837. The Parti Patriote’s initiative was to reduce the power of the Chateau Clique, and won favour of the seats in the Lower Canada Assembly. This action resulted in Papineau’s Resolution in 1834 which ultimately allowed the supreme authority to be in the elected majority.