Outpost: The Dominion of Canada’s Colonial Garrison in Manitoba, 1870 to 1877

Abstract

Military garrisons were a common requirement of empires, ancient or modern, in order to secure and maintain their imperial authority in colonies. Nineteenth century Canada was no different. When the Dominion of Canada annexed the North-Western interior of North America in 1870, it acquired a peripheral colony to be exploited by the economic, political, and cultural metropole of central Canada. Between 1870-1877, the Dominion maintained a garrison of Active Militia in what is now Winnipeg to pre-empt external aggression, bring order to the frontier, and conduct policing duties in the rough and tumble nascent Province of Manitoba