On 1 December 1869, the vast territory of Rupert’s Land was formally transferred from the Hudson’s Bay Company to the young Dominion of Canada. The North West Mounted Police (NWMP), created by an Act of Parliament in 1873, was formed to establish friendly relations with the First Nations, enforce Canadian authority, pave the way for settlers, and maintain law and order on the western frontier. Meet some of the founders of the Force, including Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald, Lieutenant-Governor Alexander Morris, and George Arthur French, first Commissioner of the Mounted Police. Read on to find out more about the challenges of “Creating a Mounted Police”.
