Central Government and Westward Expansion

“[He opposed] federal disallowance of Manitoba railway legislation [see Norquay] and [supported] provincial control of natural resources, especially land, withheld by Ottawa when Manitoba entered confederation in 1870. In the provincial election of January 1883 Greenway and 15 others ran as Provincial Rights candidates, campaigning primarily on the issue of disallowance. After challenges to election results were settled, 21 Conservatives confronted a combined opposition of 9, made up of Provincial Rights candidates, Liberals, and independents, who quickly coalesced under the Liberal banner with Greenway as their leader.”

For more information on the entries of Manitoba and British Columbia into confederation and on the campaigns for provincial rights in western Canada, consult the biographies that can be found in the following lists.