Manitoba Flashcards

Manitoba's Manitoba Act, 1870 included language protections under Section 23. What did this section specifically guarantee?

Answer: The use of both English and French in the Legislature and courts of Manitoba

Section 23 of the Manitoba Act, 1870 guaranteed the use of both English and French in the Legislature and in the courts of Manitoba — mirroring protections in the federal Constitution Act. This right was later infamously ignored by the province for nearly a century until the Supreme Court's landmark 1985 Reference re Manitoba Language Rights ruling.

At the time Manitoba entered Confederation in 1870, it was nicknamed the 'Postage Stamp Province.' Why?

Answer: Because it was a tiny rectangular region, far smaller than its current boundaries

The original Manitoba of 1870 covered only about 36,000 km² — a small rectangle around the Red River Settlement. It was humorously called the 'Postage Stamp Province' due to its tiny size. Its boundaries were later expanded significantly in 1881 and again in 1912 when it reached its current northern border.

During the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919, what event on June 21 became known as 'Bloody Saturday'?

Answer: Royal North-West Mounted Police charged a crowd of strikers, killing two and injuring many others

On June 21, 1919 — 'Bloody Saturday' — Royal North-West Mounted Police and special 'special police' charged a crowd of strike supporters near city hall. Two strikers were killed and dozens injured. The federal government also arrested strike leaders that week under the Immigration Act. The strike collapsed shortly after.

Louis Riel, leader of the Red River Resistance that led to Manitoba's creation, was tried for high treason and executed in 1885. In which city did his trial and execution take place?

Answer: Regina, in what is now Saskatchewan

Although Riel is most closely associated with Manitoba and the Red River Resistance of 1869–70, his 1885 trial for high treason — stemming from the Northwest Resistance — was held in Regina (in present-day Saskatchewan), and he was hanged there on November 16, 1885. His execution deeply inflamed tensions between French and English Canada.

The Manitoba Schools Question of the 1890s arose after the province eliminated public funding for Catholic schools. Which agreement temporarily resolved the federal-provincial dispute without fully restoring Catholic school rights?

Answer: The Laurier–Greenway Compromise of 1896

The Laurier–Greenway Compromise (1896) was a political deal between Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier and Manitoba Premier Thomas Greenway. It allowed limited religious instruction in the last half-hour of the school day and permitted teaching in French or other languages where numbers warranted — but it did not restore separate Catholic school funding. Many Quebec Catholics felt Laurier had betrayed them.

Which numbered treaties, signed in the 1870s, cover the largest portion of what is now the province of Manitoba?

Answer: Treaties 1, 2, 3, and 5

Treaties 1 (1871), 2 (1871), 3 (1873), and 5 (1875) cover the southern and central portions of Manitoba, with Treaty 5 extending into the north around Lake Winnipeg. These were among the earliest numbered treaties negotiated after Confederation and established the legal framework for settler expansion into Rupert's Land. Treaties 6–11 cover lands further west and north.