 Macdonald had once been tepid on the question of westward expansion of the Canadian provinces; as Prime Minister he became a strong supporter of a bicoastal Canada.Immediately upon Confederation, he sent commissioners to London who in due course successfully negotiated the transfer of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory to Canada.The Hudson's Bay Company received $1,500,000, and retained some trading posts as well as one-twentieth of the best farmland.