The Boundary Commission Trail (

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

: ''Sentier de la Commission de délimitation'') was a trail in western

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

used by the North American Boundary Commission to survey the

Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...

starting in 1872. The

North-West Mounted Police The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian paramilitary police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert's Land and North-Western Territory to ...

(NWMP) also used the trail in their

March West The March West was the initial journey of the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) to the Canadian prairies, made between July 8 and October 9, 1874. It was the result of the force being deployed to what is now southern Alberta in response to the ...

in 1874. The trail no longer exists, but is commemorated with a modern highway route that approximately follows the trail used by the NWMP and is called the

Red Coat Trail The Red Coat Trail is a route that approximates the path taken in 1874 by the North-West Mounted Police in their March West from Fort Dufferin to Fort Whoop-Up. Route description A number of highways in southern Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and A ...

. American and Canadian surveyors worked together in the difficult task of surveying the border, which was agreed upon in the

Treaty of 1818 The Convention respecting fisheries, boundary and the restoration of slaves, also known as the London Convention, Anglo-American Convention of 1818, Convention of 1818, or simply the Treaty of 1818, is an international treaty signed in 1818 betw ...

to be the 49th parallel. They met in September 1872 in Pembina, Dakota Territory, where they spent the winter before heading out in the spring of 1873 to begin surveying and placing markers along the route starting at the

Lake of the Woods Lake of the Woods (; ) is a lake occupying parts of the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba and the U.S. state of Minnesota. Lake of the Woods is over long and wide, containing more than 14,552 islands and of shoreline. It is fed by t ...

. The winter of 1873–74 was spent in Willow Bunch, North-West Territories. In the spring they continued their work and the last marker was placed on 8 August 1874 at

Waterton Lake Waterton Lake () is a mountain lake in southern Alberta, Canada, and northern Montana, United States. The lake is composed of two bodies of water, connected by a shallow channel known locally as the Bosporus. The two parts are referred to as Middl ...

. Waterton Lake straddles the 49th parallel in present-day

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

and

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

. In

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, the trail is commemorated with signage on Highways 3, 32, 83, and

243 __NOTOC__ Year 243 ( CCXLIII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Arrianus and Papus (or, less frequently, year 996 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denominat ...

. File:Boundary Commission Trail.jpg, Boundary Commission Trail plaque near

Roche Percee, Saskatchewan Roche Percee ( 2021 population: ) is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the RM of Coalfields No. 4 and Census Division No. 1. The village is near the Canada–United States border, just off Highway 39. Roche Percee is ...

File:Boundary Commission, Two Borders.jpg, Boundary Trail Heritage Region sign on Highway 83 in the

Municipality of Two Borders The Municipality of Two Borders is a rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It is located in the extreme south-west corner of the province in the Westman Region. The rural municipality's name is a reference to its loc ...

References

External links

Commission Trail Heritage Region website
{{Authority control Canada–United States border Historic trails and roads in Alberta Historic trails and roads in Manitoba Historic trails and roads in Saskatchewan

See also

References

External links