Settlement of western Canada

When the United States purchased Alaska from the Russians in 1867, Canadians feared they would attempt to take over Rupert’s Land; its acquisition thus became an important objective for the government. Sir George-Étienne Cartier, Sir John A. Macdonald’s principal lieutenant, and William McDougall, the minister of public works, were among the strongest advocates of the new dominion’s extension westward. As McDougall warned: “If we did not expand, we must contract.”

Clifford Sifton, Sir Wilfrid Laurier’s minister of the interior, advocated protective tariffs, expansion of railways, and settlement of an agricultural population in the west. These policies would give Canada a measure of economic independence and diversify its economy, open new areas to settlement, provide access to untapped resources, and integrate the west into the dominion both as a consumer of domestic manufactures and as a producer of foodstuffs and other natural products in the international market.”