The war between France and England ended decades ago; but the conflict between the French and English speaking settlers in Canada could still be felt as a result of many events and issues. Such as when Manitoba joined Confederation in 1870, the Manitoba Act was signed which stated and granted some rights to the Métis in the province, but the Manitoba School's Act signed in 1890 broke Most of the promises made by the Manitoba Act. Also, in the western provinces of Canada, French speaking Catholics were dominant, but the finishing of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in 1885 made it possible for an enormous number of English speaking Protestants to move to the western provinces. This created conflicts between the English speaking and the French speaking Canadians (mostly Métis) who feared for their culture and language, and finally a rebellion was led by Louis Riel to try to prove to the government that they were upset because the government did not do anything. Tensions among the French and English flared up once again when the Dutch declared War on the British in 1899 and the question of Canada's role came into play. Although the French culture and its people shaped a lot of the present Canada, they were not treated fairly by the government or the English-speaking Protestants because of their small minority. The relationship between the French speaking and English speaking Canadians contained a lot of rivalry and dispute.
The promises made to the French-speaking Canadians were poorly preserved by the government, which was mostly made of English speaking Canadians. Red River settlement contained a community of several thousand Métis, white farmers and fur traders. The Red River settlement was in Rupert's Land, and became a part of Canada when Canadian government bought Rupert's Land from the Hudson's Bay Company. The Red River settlement however did not want to become a part of Canada until specific demands were negotiated with the government.