Canada Purchases the North-West
Early Canadians felt that it was their destiny and right to expand westward across the continent. The Fathers of Confederation had provided for the North-West's admission to Canada in the British North America Act, as the federation of Quebec, Ontario, New  Brunswick and Nova Scotia was just the beginning of a movement they hoped would end in the unification of all British North American colonies. The North-West was the highway to the Pacific; the vital link which would bring British Columbia into Confederation, making the dream of a "Dominion from Sea to Sea" a reality. The North-West was officially handed over to Canada on July 15, 1870. A small part of it along the banks  of the Red River became the new province of Manitoba. The remainder was designated the North-West Territories, federally administered by a Lt. Governor and Council.
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