Louis Riel

Lore & Background

Louis Riel was born on 22 October 1844 in St-Boniface, the eldest of eleven children in a well-respected family. His father Louis Riel Sr. had gained prominence by challenging the Hudson's Bay Company's trade monopoly. Riel began schooling at age seven and at thirteen came to the attention of Bishop Alexandre Taché, who arranged for him to attend the Petit Séminaire de Montréal. He was a fine scholar but also hot-tempered and intolerant of criticism. After his father's death in 1864, Riel lost interest in the priesthood, withdrew from college, and experienced emotional and religious turmoil, at one point believing he was no longer Louis Riel but David Mordecai. He worked as a law clerk and had a failed romance before returning to the Red River settlement in 1868.

In 1869–1870, Riel led the Red River Resistance, forming a provisional government that negotiated Manitoba's entry into Confederation. During this resistance, he had Canadian nationalist Thomas Scott executed. Riel fled to the United States to escape prosecution. He was elected three times to the House of Commons but never took his seat. In exile, he came to believe he was a divinely chosen leader and prophet. He married in 1881 while in the Montana Territory. In 1884, Métis leaders in Saskatchewan called him back to help resolve grievances, leading to the North-West Rebellion of 1885. Defeated at the Battle of Batoche, Riel was convicted of high treason and executed by hanging on 16 November 1885.

Reader's Guide

Louis Riel's historical reputation has long been polarized. Some portray him as a dangerous religious fanatic and rebel opposed to the Canadian nation; others see him as a charismatic leader defending his Métis people from unfair encroachments by a federal government eager to give Ontario settlers priority access to land. His execution had a lasting negative impact on Canada, polarizing the new nation along ethno-religious lines. French Canadians viewed him as a heroic victim, while the Métis were marginalized in the Prairie provinces by the increasingly English-dominated majority. A long-term effect was the bitter alienation felt by Francophones across Canada and their anger against repression by their countrymen. Riel has received among the most formal organizational and academic scrutiny of any figure in Canadian history, reflecting his enduring significance as a symbol of Métis rights and French-Canadian grievances.

Did You Know?

• Riel was elected three times as member of the House of Commons but never took his seat, fearing for his life.
• While in exile in the Montana Territory, Riel married in 1881.
• Riel's father Louis Riel Sr. helped end the Hudson's Bay Company's trade monopoly by agitating for the release of Guillaume Sayer.
• Riel's execution was carried out despite the jury's call for clemency.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Deeds are not accomplished in a few days, or in a few hours. A century is only a spoke in the wheel of everlasting time." — Louis Riel "We may be a small community and a Half-breed community at that — but we are men, free and spirited men, and we will not allow even the Dominion of Canada to trample on our rights." — Louis Riel "My people will sleep for one hundred years, but when they awake, it will be the artists who give them their spirit back." — Louis Riel "I have nothing but my heart and I have given it long ago to my country." — Louis Riel