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In
1873, Ottawa formed the para-military
North-West Mounted Police to maintain
order on the western frontier. While
this force was generally successful in
keeping the peace, government land-holding
policies and voting regulations systematically
disadvantaged many of the region’s
non-white inhabitants.
The
inter-continental Canadian Pacific Railway,
completed in 1885, gradually pushed back
Canada’s western frontier. It enabled
settlers to flood into the prairies and
agricultural production to find eastern
markets. These major changes altered
forever the way of life of the area’s
Native peoples and the Métis.
Not all the changes were welcome.
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