The North-West Resistance ends with Riel's execution
Metis and Cree forces are defeated and Louis Riel hangs for treason in Regina
Quick facts
- Uprising dates
- March to May 1885
- Leaders
- Louis Riel, Gabriel Dumont
- Riel's trial
- Regina, July 1885
- Execution
- 16 November 1885
What happened
By the 1870s, Plains nations faced the collapse of the buffalo herds while Metis communities in the Saskatchewan valley grew anxious over unresolved land claims as white settlement expanded. In March 1885, Louis Riel, who had returned from exile in the United States at the Metis community's request, and Metis military commander Gabriel Dumont led an armed uprising alongside Cree allies against federal authority. Canadian militia and troops, moved west partly along the newly completed CPR line, suppressed the five-month insurgency by May. Riel was captured, tried for treason in Regina in a trial lasting five days in July 1885, found guilty, and hanged on 16 November 1885.
Why it matters
The defeat ended organized armed Indigenous and Metis resistance on the Plains and cemented federal control over the West, while Riel's execution deepened the divide between English and French Canada, turning him into a martyr in Quebec and propelling a young Wilfrid Laurier to prominence as a defender of French Canadian interests.
How we know
Court records from Riel's 1885 treason trial, military dispatches from the campaign, and the Canadian Encyclopedia's North-West Resistance and Louis Riel entries document the uprising's causes, course, and outcome.
Sources
- The Canadian Encyclopedia. North-West Resistance · Reputable sourcethecanadianencyclopedia.ca · The domain "thecanadianencyclopedia.ca" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- The Canadian Encyclopedia. Louis Riel · Reputable sourcethecanadianencyclopedia.ca · The domain "thecanadianencyclopedia.ca" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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