When Canada acquired the Hudson's Bay Company territory in 1870 the federal government was faced with the challenge of governing an area comprising more than half the nation. Following the creation of the province of Manitoba, Parliament provided a territorial government for the vast region of northwest Canada and northern Quebec and Ontario. This classic study of the political development of the area now comprising the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan describe the complex process of territorial struggle and constitutional change which marked the transition from the administration of imperial authority to the establishment of responsible government in western Canada.

The historical pattern is still in process in Canada's northern territories, and in this new edition Professor Thomas discusses the implications of the western experience for present political and constitutional questions.