Who Was Louis Riel? — What to Know for the Citizenship Test

# Who Was Louis Riel? — What to Know for the Citizenship Test

Louis Riel is one of the most complex figures in Canadian history — a hero to Métis Canadians, a controversial figure historically, and a tested name on the citizenship exam. This guide gives you what you need to know.

• Born: October 22, 1844, in the Red River Settlement (modern Manitoba)
• Died: November 16, 1885, in Regina (executed by hanging)
• People: Métis (mixed Indigenous and European ancestry)
• Religion: Roman Catholic
• Languages: French, Cree, Michif, English
• Education: Studied for the priesthood in Montreal

In 1869, Canada bought the vast Rupert's Land territory from the Hudson's Bay Company — including the Red River Settlement, where about 12,000 Métis lived alongside English- and French-speaking settlers and First Nations. The Métis worried about:

• Loss of land rights
• Suppression of the French language and Catholic religion
• Influx of Protestant English-Canadian settlers

Riel led the formation of a provisional government in late 1869, controlling Fort Garry (modern Winnipeg) and negotiating terms of joining Canada. Negotiations succeeded — the Manitoba Act, 1870 created the bilingual Province of Manitoba, with land grants for Métis and protection for French and Catholic minority rights.

During the rebellion, the provisional government tried and executed a violent English-Canadian prisoner named Thomas Scott in March 1870. Scott was an Orange Order member from Ontario, and his death ignited Protestant English-Canadian fury. Riel became a marked man in Ontario.

Despite this, Métis voters in Manitoba elected Riel to the House of Commons three times between 1873 and 1874. He never took his seat — he was a fugitive and was eventually expelled from Parliament.

Riel spent most of the 1870s in the United States, in Montana. He suffered episodes of mental illness, including periods institutionalised in Quebec hospitals in 1876–1878. By the early 1880s he was teaching at a Jesuit mission in Montana and married with children.

In 1884, Métis and First Nations leaders in what is now Saskatchewan sent a delegation to Montana asking Riel to return and advocate for their rights. They had spent years petitioning Ottawa for land grants and had received no response.

Riel returned. By March 1885, with peaceful efforts exhausted, he established a provisional government at Batoche and called for armed resistance. First Nations leaders Big Bear (Cree) and Poundmaker (Cree) joined parts of the resistance.

The federal government responded militarily. Battles at Duck Lake, Fish Creek, Cut Knife, and finally Batoche (May 9–12, 1885) ended in defeat for the rebels. Riel surrendered.

Riel was tried for treason in Regina in July 1885. His lawyers argued insanity; Riel himself rejected this defence and used his speeches to argue the political legitimacy of the Métis cause. The jury convicted him in 2 hours but recommended mercy.

Despite the recommendation, Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald refused to grant clemency — famously saying *"He shall hang though every dog in Quebec bark in his favour."* Riel was hanged on November 16, 1885.

Riel's execution had deep consequences:

• English Canada: largely supported the execution as just punishment for armed rebellion
• French Canada: outraged. Many felt Riel had been killed for being Métis, Catholic, and French-speaking. The execution accelerated French-Canadian nationalism and shifted Quebec voters away from the Conservative Party for decades
• Métis: lost their political champion and faced decades of marginalisation in Manitoba and elsewhere

Modern Canada recognises Riel very differently than 1885 Canada did:

• Louis Riel Day is celebrated in Manitoba on the third Monday of February
• Riel is widely recognised as a Father of Manitoba
• A statue of Riel stands at the Manitoba Legislature
• The federal government has formally acknowledged his role in creating Manitoba
• Métis identity and political organisation are stronger than at any time since 1885

Common test questions:

• "Who was Louis Riel?" → Métis political leader
• "What did Louis Riel do?" → Led the Métis defence and helped create Manitoba
• "When was Riel executed?" → 1885
• "Where did Louis Riel lead his last rebellion?" → Saskatchewan / Northwest Territories

Riel questions are common on the test. Drill them on our [free Canadian citizenship practice test](/practice-test). For broader Indigenous and Métis context, see [Indigenous Peoples of Canada](/blog/indigenous-peoples-canada-first-nations-metis-inuit).