Several treaties were signed after the Royal Proclamation and before Confederation in 1867. These include the Upper Canada Treaties (1764 to 1862).

Upper Canada refers to the upper reaches of the St Lawrence River - it is actually slightly South of Lower Canada which can cause some confusion.

An Indian treaty, as understood by the Government of Canada and the courts, is an agreement between the Crown and a specified group or groups of Indian people (Treaty First Nations) in which the parties created mutually binding obligations that were to be solemnly respected. The treaty sets out the promises, obligations, and benefits of the respective parties to the treaty. Evidence of a treaty can be found in both written documents and oral evidence. br> Early treaties between the British Crown and Indian tribes and nations were made in order to establish peaceful relations along with strategic alliances during a period when Britain and France were competing for control of France’s North American colonial territories.

The British Royal Proclamation of 1763, proclaimed in response to the Pontiac Rebellion, changed the nature of historic treaty-making to encompass more than peace and friendship agreements. Treaties made after the Proclamation allowed for the surrender of land title from the Aboriginal inhabitants to the Crown but required that such surrenders take place in public with the Indians’ consent. The Proclamation also prohibited private individuals from acquiring Indian lands except through the Crown.

Many factors influenced the content of historic treaties including military conflicts, colonial and post-colonial settlements, railway building, agriculture development, and extraction of natural resources. The creation of treaties made it possible to develop and settle Canada as we know it today.

Upper Canada Treaties (1764 to 1862)

The Ontario land surrender treaties can be divided into three distinct groups according to geography and chronology. From 1764 to 1806, First Nations ceded lands along the shoreline of the upper St. Lawrence River and those of lakes Erie and Ontario to the Crown.

From 1815 to 1827, the Crown acquired the Indian lands extending from the Ottawa River to the eastern shores of Georgian Bay. In exchange for land surrenders by Indians, the Crown promised to accept Indians as British subjects, provide modest gifts of money, clothing, and other goods, and in certain cases to create reserves.

From 1836 to 1862, the Crown acquired the northern and northwestern areas of what then was known as Upper Canada, an area that included the Saugeen Peninsula, Manitoulin Island, and the north shores of Lake Superior and Lake Huron.

Under the Upper Canada treaties, the First Nations surrendered interests in lands in areas of what are now Ontario and British Columbia, in exchange for certain other benefits, that could include reserves, annuities or other types of payment, and certain rights to hunt and fish.