Douglas, Thomas (5th Earl of Selkirk) National Historic Person
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Thomas Douglas, the Fifth Earl of Selkirk
(© National Archives Library | Archives Nationales du Canada / Library and Archives Canada | Bibliothèque et Archives Canada / C-001346)
Address :
corner of Colony Street and Memorial Boulevard, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
1943-05-20
Life Date:
1771 to 1820
Other Name(s):
-
Douglas, Thomas (5th Earl of Selkirk)
(Designation Name)
Importance:
Colonizer, founded settlements in Prince Edward Island (1803) and Red River district (1811)
Plaque(s)
Existing plaque: corner of Colony Street and Memorial Boulevard, Winnipeg, Manitoba
After establishing colonies of the dispossessed peasantry of Ireland and his native Scotland in Prince Edward Island and Upper Canada, Lord Selkirk secured from the Hudson's Bay Company a grant of land in southern Rupert's Land. Here, between 1811 and 1815, he brought colonists to found an agricultural settlement in the heart of the fur country, thus launching the final stage of the bitter conflict between the Hudson's Bay and North West Companies. He spent his fortune and energies on this struggle until his death paved the way for the union of the companies, which resolved the conflict and saved his colony.