Territorial Evolution, 1874

Canada

Ontario's western boundary, which was established in 1870 when the province of Manitoba was created, caused many disputes between Ontario and Manitoba. In 1874, the Government of Canada set provisional provincial boundaries which extended the territory of Ontario both to the west and to the north.

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Photograph of steamer Maude, Nanaimo, British Columbia

Ontario

In 1791, when the Province of Canada was divided into Upper and Lower Canada, Upper Canada had been defined -- not very clearly -- as "extending to the utmost extent of the country known as Canada." On the basis of this unclear definition, when the province of Ontario was formed, it claimed to reach all the way to the Rocky Mountains in the West and the Arctic Ocean in the North.

In 1870, when Canada took over the lands of the Hudson's Bay Company, the province of Ontario became interested in delimiting its boundaries. But the boundaries of Rupert’s Land and the Northwest Territory had never been precisely delimited. The Government of Canada set the northern boundary of Ontario at the height of land between the St. Lawrence and Hudson Bay watersheds. The western boundary of the province, as set by the Canadian Government, left a disputed territory between the province and the Hudson's Bay Company lands. This disputed territory was a rapidly developing area, which included the town of Prince Arthur’s Landing and Fort William. It was also an area over which Ontario had been exercising jurisdiction.

In 1872, the province of Ontario was asked by the federal Department of Public Works to pay for construction at Port Arthur’s Landing and for a police force at Fort William. The province paid, but it then asked for an explanation, since it was in the disputed territory. This led, in 1874, to new provisional boundaries for the province, which included the disputed territory and extended the northern boundary of the province to the fifty-first parallel of latitude.

The animation Territorial Evolution 1867 to 1999 shows sequentially the history of the political boundary changes in Canada from Confederation to the creation of Nunavut.

• Territorial Evolution, 1867 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1870 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1871 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1873 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1876 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1880 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1881 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1882 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1886 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1889 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1895 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1897 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1898 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1901 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1905 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1912 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1920 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1927 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1949 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1999 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1867 to 1999 Map | Read about this map

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• Territorial Evolution
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