Introduction to the Justice System in Canada

Rupert’s Land The heart of the fur trade, Rupert’s Land was a vast territory of northern wilderness that covered a third of modern-day Canada. From 1670 to 1870, it was the exclusive commercial domain of the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), who administered laws, dealt out justice, and operated under a royal charter. That land was eventually acquired by the Canadian government, and they divided it between what is now Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.

Map of Rupert’s Land (City of Edmonton Archives, Richard Edes Harrison, 1970 CA EDM RG-200-8-EAM-107)

Councillers of the Provisional Government of the Metis Nation (Library and Archives Canada/PA-012854)

The acquisition of Rupert’s Land was the largest transfer of land in Canadian history, and was done without the consultation of any Indigenous peoples.

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