Manitoba Act
Encyclopedia

The Manitoba Act, originally titled An Act to amend and continue the Act 32 and 33 Victoria, chapter 3; and to establish and provide for the Government of the Province of Manitoba, is an act
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...

 of the Parliament of Canada
Parliament of Canada
The Parliament of Canada is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa. Formally, the body consists of the Canadian monarch—represented by her governor general—the Senate, and the House of Commons, each element having its own officers and...

 that is defined by the Constitution Act, 1982
Constitution Act, 1982
The Constitution Act, 1982 is a part of the Constitution of Canada. The Act was introduced as part of Canada's process of "patriating" the constitution, introducing several amendments to the British North America Act, 1867, and changing the latter's name in Canada to the Constitution Act, 1867...

 as forming a part of the Constitution of Canada
Constitution of Canada
The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law in Canada; the country's constitution is an amalgamation of codified acts and uncodified traditions and conventions. It outlines Canada's system of government, as well as the civil rights of all Canadian citizens and those in Canada...

. The act, which received the royal assent on May 12, 1870, created the province
Provinces and territories of Canada
The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...

 of Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

 and continued in force An Act for the Temporary Government of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territories when united with Canada upon the absorption of the British
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

 territories of Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land, or Prince Rupert's Land, was a territory in British North America, consisting of the Hudson Bay drainage basin that was nominally owned by the Hudson's Bay Company for 200 years from 1670 to 1870, although numerous aboriginal groups lived in the same territory and disputed the...

 and the North-Western Territory
North-Western Territory
The North-Western Territory was a region of British North America until 1870. Named for where it lay in relation to Rupert's Land, the territory at its greatest extent covered what is now Yukon, mainland Northwest Territories, northwestern mainland Nunavut, northwestern Saskatchewan, northern...

 into Canada on July 15, 1870.

Background

The act was adopted by Parliament in response to the Métis
Métis people (Canada)
The Métis are one of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who trace their descent to mixed First Nations parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union, but within generations the culture syncretised into what is today a distinct aboriginal group, with...

' concerns of the provisional government led by Louis Riel
Louis Riel
Louis David Riel was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political and spiritual leader of the Métis people of the Canadian prairies. He led two resistance movements against the Canadian government and its first post-Confederation Prime Minister, Sir John A....

. Riel was a major influence on the Manitoba Act since it was based on his list of rights. The Red River colony and its surroundings would become the province of Manitoba, which was a tiny area around the Red River Colony. Unlike other provinces, however, Manitoba would have its land and other resources initially controlled by Ottawa.
In a victory for the Métis, the act guaranteed that they would receive title for the lands they already farmed and 1400000 acres (5,665.6 km²) of farmland for the use of their children. The act also set aside land for the Métis, with each family receiving scrip, a certificate, saying they owned 96 hectares of land, amount to a total of about 560000 hectares (5,600 km²).

As a result of the settlement, however, Macdonald convinced the British to send a military expedition to Manitoba, led by Colonel Wolseley. White settlers poured into the province, and the Métis were kept waiting for their land grants. Many Métis fled to Saskatchewan, and Louis Riel fled to the United States.

The act contained religious and language rights, namely rights to denominational schools, to laws in both French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

, and to use either English or French in the Legislature of Manitoba and any courts established by either Canada or the Province. This has led to political controversy, however, including the Manitoba Schools Question
Manitoba Schools Question
The Manitoba Schools Question was a political crisis in the Canadian Province of Manitoba that occurred late in the 19th century, involving publicly funded separate schools for Roman Catholics and Protestants...

 in the nineteenth century, as denominational school rights were curtailed. The legislature also enacted English-only laws later found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Canada
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...

 in the case Reference re Manitoba Language Rights
Reference re Manitoba Language Rights
Reference re Manitoba Language Rights [1985] 1 S.C.R. 721 was a reference question posed to the Supreme Court of Canada regarding provisions in the Manitoba Act stipulating the provision of French language services in the province of Manitoba...

(1985).

Under the act, Manitoba could send four members to the House of Commons in Ottawa and two members to the Senate.

Validity of the Manitoba Act

Following the enactment of the Manitoba Act, questions arose whether the federal Parliament had the constitutional authority to create new provinces by ordinary federal statute. To eliminate any uncertainty on this point, the Imperial Parliament enacted the Constitution Act, 1871,which confirmed that the federal Parliament had the power to establish new provinces and provide for their constitutions.

External Links

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