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Pre 1870 Post 1870 Legacy

The Mission era in Canada's West can be looked at in three periods. Beginning with the years before 1870 (marking the sale of Rupert's Land and the early treaties) one moves into turbulent years and concludes with a review of the role of the missions and missionaries in the 20th century. 

The Wesleyans, or those missionaries with roots in British Methodism, dominated the Methodist missionary field prior to 1870. We examine their relations with the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) and other missionaries and how they first established cross-cultural contact with the Aboriginal peoples.

After Confederation in 1867, the landscape of Western Canada changed significantly. The presence of the Canadian government, the decline of the HBC, the formalization of the Methodist Church of Canada and the signing of First Nations treaties in the early 1870s, all affected the role of the Methodist missions. We will explore how these roles changed and how new relationships evolved with the Canadian government, local communities and Aboriginal peoples. Finally, we will take a look at the lasting effects of the missionaries and their changing role in the twentieth century.

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