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Manitoba before Confederation Before 1870, the Hudson's Bay
Company owned a huge area in the western part of what is now
Canada. This area contained Rupert's Land and the North-Western
Territory. The people of the Red River Colony in the southern
part of Rupert's Land were Métis. They wanted their own
government for one main reason: Winnipeg in 1871 They chose a
man named Louis Riel to lead them. He set up a government and
would not let people from the Government of Canada take control
of the new Northwest Territories. Riel wanted to make sure that
the Métis would be consulted. He sent people to Ottawa to make
an agreement with the Canadian governme