The Canadian West / The Fur Trade

Calgary Alberta, circa 1885

The story of the Canadian West, it's exploration, the fur trade and it's settling is a story about Fur trappers, the Hudson Bay Company and the Canadian Pacific Railway. In some respects, it followed a pattern similar to the settling of the American West but in some others it was quite different.

The Canadian Pacific Railway was just as important as was the Union Pacific, Southern Pacific and a few others in the U.S. While the fur trade was key to both countries, what appears to be the biggest difference in the settling of the two frontiers was the role of the military.

During the last years of the 1800's, the American frontier literally was no longer considered a frontier. At least that was what the U.S, Census Bureau declared in 1890. The year of 1890 witnessed the massacre at Wounded Knee which most historians point out was the last of the Indian Wars, although what happened at Wounded Knee could hardly be called a war. A small scale uprising probably describes it better.  Regardless, after 1890 the American West was considered settled. Between the emigration west on the Oregon Trail, the Gold Rush in California and in the Black Hills and elsewhere had already brought thousands upon thousands of people to the American west.

Settling Western Canada

The west Canadian provinces, while there were some settlers, was still largely unsettled in the 1870's.  In fact, during the latter 1800's and into the 1900's, the Canadian government actually ran an advertising campaign to point out the many benefits of heading to the Canadian west. The campaign was named "The Last Best West" and ran between the years 1896 to 1914. The ads were placed in European, British and American newspapers. The campaign had good results. Millions of settlers headed into western Canada during those turn of the century years. The transcontinental railroad was in place having been completed in 1885 in the Canadian west so relatively comfortable transportation to the western provinces was in place. To fully understand the start of this settlement in the Canadian West, an understanding of the Hudson Bay Company's dominance must be explained. From the earliest days to about 1870 the Hudson's Bay Company controlled what are now Canada's western provinces.

Just like the American west, the fur trappers and traders were the first to blaze the trail. During the 1820's and 30's the Hudson's Bay Company, out of it's Fort Vancouver base at the mouth of the Columbia River, controlled nearly all trading operations in the Pacific Northwest. In fact, freelance trappers would have been acting illegally.

The Early Hudson's Bay Company Monopoly

Completion of Trans Canadian Railroad

In the earlier years, the Hudson's Bay Company reportedly put out a study declaring that the land in western Canada was unfit for agricultural purposes. Perhaps the report was slanted to help keep out the farmer. The report of course was proven to be untrue. Regarding the Hudson's Bay Company monopoly, there was a contentious trial in 1849 against a trapper who was accused, by the HBC, of trading in illegal furs. The trader was found guilty of breaking the Hudson Bay monopoly, but because of an angry armed crowd present during the trial, the judge didn't fine the defendant.

This trial was probably the key event that turned the tide against the HBC monopoly and, by 1870, the government dissolved the monopoly altogether and opened up trapping to anyone. This was also an event that opened up the Canadian West to farming as well.  It was that year, 1870, in which the Canadian government purchased the rights to the Northwest from the Hudson Bay Company. This move in 1870, beyond a doubt, created opportunities for Canadians in the east who had been thinking of heading west. As mentioned above, the completing of the western railroad first to Winnepeg, then on to Calgary and eventually into British Columbia accelerated settlement. To give you an idea of the railroad's major role in settling western Canada, Canadian Pacific agents operated in many overseas cities. Immigrants were often sold a package that included passage on a Canadian Pacific ship, travel on a CP train, and land sold by the Canadian Pacific Railway. .

Also see our photo article on Fort Vancouver and the Hudson's Bay Company.

Historic structure at Fort Vancouver

Looking into another aspect of western settlement in Canada, comparing it to what had occurred in the western U.S. had to do with the buffalo. The buffalo represented the western plains Indian's most precious source of sustenance. This was true in Canada and the U.S. While the fur trade brought new prosperity to western Indians of Canada, the killing of ever larger numbers of bison altered their way of life dramatically. As more animals were killed for food and then for a market for buffalo robes in the United States, the numbers of bison reached extremely low levels. In one year alone, about 100 000 bison were slaughtered in western Canada. By the year 1870 the bison was almost extinct on the Canadian plains. Also, just as in the U.S., diseases which were carried west by the emigrating Europeans is estimated to have wiped out up to 90% of some Canadian bands. The chef diseases were smallpox, measles, and whooping cough.

Western Canadian Ranches

The year 1870 was also a pivotal year for Canadian ranching. Just as in the U.S., the western ranching industry had the encouragement of government. During 1881 the Canadian government passed an act which allowed anyone to lease up to 100,000 acres at a cost of just one cent per acre per year. Granting or leasing acreage at a very low cost was something done by both the Spaniards and the Mexicans to help settle their territories in Texas, New Mexico and Alta California. The method proved successful for them as well as for the Canadian government decades later.

The ranch land was leased and the cowboy entered the western Canadian culture. While the Canadian cowboy and his American counterpart dressed similarly, there were a few distinctions. The history books point out that, unlike their American brothers, the Canadian cowboy seemed not to have the same negative baggage. Some might say that quite a bit written by the dime novelists of the era embellished the "negative' exploits of the American cowboy. I think that when all was said and done both the Canadian cowboy as well as his brothers to the south put in a hard days work for their wages.

Wild West Fugitives in Canada

Bill Miner, date unknown

An interesting historical note is that two of the more famous American Old West lawman figures, Bat Masterson of Dodge City Kansas and Seth Bullock of Deadwood South Dakota  ere both  born in Canada. The frontiersman and Wild West showman Buffalo Bill Cody's father was originally from Canada. As far as outlaws go, the Sundance Kid, a member of the Wild Bunch, spent some three years near Calgary Alberta.

Often times the border was a bit porous but nevertheless the RCMP seemed to have a good idea who was around. The fleeing to Canada by American outlaws most likely offered an opportunity to hang low for a while without an American posse on their tail. One of the more famous of Canadian frontier bandits was a man by the name of Bill Miner. Miner actually spent a lot of time in American prisons before he moved up to British Columbia. It seems that Bill Miner liked robbing and especially robbing trains. The interesting thing is that after Miner was eventually caught by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and tried in court, he picked up a following of supporters. It seems that many thought it wasn't that bad of a deed trying to rob a Canadian Pacific Railway train. This was believed to be the first train robbery in British Columbia. While it reminds one of the Robin Hood story, Bill Miner apparently was not a Robin Hood. It also reminds one of the bank robberies years later in the U.S. by Bonnie and Clyde when some people at the time felt that the banks deserved robbing. In many respects, the growth of the Canadian frontier and the lawless element that growth attracts is similar to what transpired in the American west.

Sitting Bull's Flight into Canada

The Canadian West was also a refuge for other than old west outlaws and gang members. The great Sioux Chief Sitting Bull as an example fled with many of his people to Canada after the Great Sioux War with the U.S. Army in 1876. Sitting Bull eventually went back and surrendered in the U.S. when both the lack of supplies and the harsh winters took their toll. After reentering the U.S., Sitting Bull actually spent four months touring with Buffalo Bill Cody's famous Wild West.

1898 map of Vancouver, British Columbia

A western road trip through Canada whether it be to Winnepeg Manitoba, Calgary Alberta, Vancouver British Columbia or anywhere in between can be a great adventure and quite a learning experience. When visiting Canada's western provinces, there are also several excellent museums that you may want to add to your vacation trip planner. This list below is just a sampe list. There are many more museums and terrific sites to put on your vacation itinerary.

In Winnepeg you'll find the Winnepeg Railway Museum. The museum's stated goal is to preserve Winnepeg's railroad heritage. Among other artifacts, the museum is home to the first steam locomotive on the Canadian prairies. Also in Winnepeg is the Living Prairie Museum. Here you will learn much about the ecology of the area prior to settlement and later urbanization.

In Calgary, a must stop for the history minded is the Fort Calgary Historic Park. This is the site of the 1875 North West Mounted Police fort. This forty-acre park includes an interpretive centre, with ongoing excavation and reconstruction of the original fort. Also in Calgary is the Glenbow Museum. In addition to a research library are exhibits relating to Native culture, Western settlement, early farming, and the oil industry.

A National Historic Site in Vancouver is Gastown, the city's oldest neighborhood. Gastown features charming cobblestone streets, an antique steam clock, and brick facades. A statue commemorates Gastown’s founder, “Gassy Jack” Deighton, who opened a saloon there in 1867.

Very popular is the Vancouver Maritime Museum. Among many other educational and fun exhibits are ones regarding shipwrecks and the early fur trade which was so much a part of Canada's early frontier history. British Columbia and Vancouver was a bustling maritime community and there's much to see and do there.

For those that have the time to explore Canada by rail, the transcontinental Canadian Pacific Railway may very well be North America's most scenic route. The route of the CP though the beautiful Canadian Rockies makes for a very memorable exploration of western Canada.

(Article copyright Western Trips. Fort Vancouver photo from Western Trips collection. Remaining photos and images from public domain)