Deed of Surrender

Deed of Surrender
Deed of Surrender
Queen-in-council
	Long title "Rupert's Land and North-Western Territory - Enactment No. 3: Order of Her Majesty in Council admitting Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory into the union, dated the 23rd day of June 1870" ;
Territorial extent	Rupert's Land, North-Western Territory, Canada
Enacted by	Queen-in-council
Royal assent	June 23, 1870
Commenced	July 15, 1870
	Status: In force

The Deed of Surrender or Rupert's Land and North-Western Territory Order is an 1870 British order in council that transferred ownership of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory from the United Kingdom to the newly created Dominion of Canada. The Deed ended just over 200 years of Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) control over Rupert's Land and began western Canadian expansion. Often confused with the Rupert's Land Act 1868, the deed is different as the act only expressed that the United Kingdom and Canada permitted the transfer, but did not settle on the details of exchange with HBC, which were outlined in the Deed of Surrender.

Canada before and after receiving Rupert's Land and North-West Territory; the Province of Manitoba was created simultaneously

History

On May 2, 1670,

doctrine of discovery, whereby the lands were considered free to claim if they were not owned already by other European nations. The Supreme Court of Canada has held that the grant also gave the Company ownership of the resources within Rupert's Land.^[2]^[3]

Expansion

Using the doctrine of discovery, the British Parliament further extended the company's domain in 1821 to the North-Western Territory as well with the passage of "An act for regulating the fur trade, and establishing a criminal and civil jurisdiction within certain parts of North America."[4]

In 1867, with Confederation, the new Dominion of Canada sought to expand westward. In that same year, Canada's Parliament expressed this desire to the United Kingdom and soon after entered into talks with the HBC to arrange for the transfer of the territory.^[5] These talks resulted in the Deed of Surrender, which was part of an order-in-council by the United Kingdom titled "Rupert's Land and North-Western Territory - Enactment No. 3: Order of Her Majesty in Council admitting Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory into the union, dated the 23rd day of June 1870". The Deed was approved and issued on June 23, 1870, and took effect on July 15, 1870.^[6] The Province of Manitoba, the first new province to join Confederation, was created on the same day.

References

^ ^a ^b "HBC's Royal Charter". HBC Heritage. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
^ Supreme Court of Canada. "Reference re Precious Metals in certain lands of the Hudson's Bay Co., [1927] SCR 458". scc-csc.lexum.com. p. 466.
^ Benson, Marjorie L.; Purich, Don (2006). "Real Property". Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Canadian Plains Research Centre, University of Regina. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
^ An act for regulating the fur trade, and establishing a criminal and civil jurisdiction within certain parts of North America. London, England. 1821.
^ "Correspondence relating to Surrender of Rupert's Land by Hudson's Bay Company and Admission into Dominion of Canada. House of Commons Papers. 43". proquest.com.
^ "Rupert's Land and North-Western Territory - Enactment No. 3". justice.gc.ca. Government of Canada, Department of Justice. Retrieved February 14, 2020.

[Charter-1] "HBC's Royal Charter". HBC Heritage. Retrieved February 14, 2020.

[2] Supreme Court of Canada. "Reference re Precious Metals in certain lands of the Hudson's Bay Co., [1927] SCR 458". scc-csc.lexum.com. p. 466.

[3] Benson, Marjorie L.; Purich, Don (2006). "Real Property". Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Canadian Plains Research Centre, University of Regina. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved April 7, 2023.

[4] An act for regulating the fur trade, and establishing a criminal and civil jurisdiction within certain parts of North America. London, England. 1821.

[5] "Correspondence relating to Surrender of Rupert's Land by Hudson's Bay Company and Admission into Dominion of Canada. House of Commons Papers. 43". proquest.com.

[6] "Rupert's Land and North-Western Territory - Enactment No. 3". justice.gc.ca. Government of Canada, Department of Justice. Retrieved February 14, 2020.

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