William Joseph Christie (1824–1899) was an early Canadian politician and prominent

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...

employee. He served as a Councilor on the

Temporary North-West Council The Temporary North-West Council, more formally known as the Council of the Northwest Territories and by its short name as the North-West Council, lasted from the creation of Northwest Territories, Canada, in 1870 until it was dissolved in 1876. Th ...

from 1872 to 1873.

Hudson's Bay Company career

Christie served a long career with the Hudson's Bay Company. His career gave him a special relationship with native populations in the territories. The Cree in particular consulted him about their concerns over the lack of Canadian government representatives and rumors of armed hostilities against the natives. Christie was a Métis who spoke French and English and possibly Cree. In 1862 Father Émile Petitot met Christie at Portage La Loche. He quotes William Joseph Christie then the

chief factor A factor is a type of trader who receives and sells goods on commission, called factorage. A factor is a mercantile fiduciary transacting business in his own name and not disclosing his principal. A factor differs from a commission merchant in ...

Fort Edmonton Fort Edmonton (also named Edmonton House) was the name of a series of trading posts of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) from 1795 to 1914, all of which were located on the north banks of the North Saskatchewan River in what is now central Alberta, ...

as saying in perfect French "I am myself a Metis. By George! We are almost all Métis in the Company. Among the chief factors there is not a single Englishman, and maybe not ten Scots with pure blood."(translation)

Politics

Christie was appointed to the Temporary North-West Council, the first government for the Northwest Territories on December 28, 1872. His appointment was short lived as he resigned from the council less than a year later. Christie served as commissioner for the

Fort Qu'Appelle Fort Qu'Appelle is a town in Canadian province of Saskatchewan located in the Qu'Appelle River valley north-east of Regina, between Echo and Mission Lakes of the Fishing Lakes. It is not to be confused with the once-significant nearby t ...

negotiation of

Treaty 4 Treaty 4 is a treaty established between Queen Victoria and the Cree and Saulteaux First Nation band governments. The area covered by Treaty 4 represents most of current day southern Saskatchewan, plus small portions of what are today western M ...

in 1874, as well as for the

Treaty 6 Treaty 6 is the sixth of the numbered treaties that were signed by the Canadian Crown and various First Nations between 1871 and 1877. It is one of a total of 11 numbered treaties signed between the Canadian Crown and First Nations. Specif ...

negotiations

Fort Carlton Fort Carlton was a Hudson's Bay Company fur trading post from 1795 until 1885. It was located along the North Saskatchewan River not far from Duck Lake. It is in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan and was rebuilt by the government of Sas ...

and Fort Pitt in 1876. In May 1875 the Canadian Pacific Railway leased Christie's home in Selkirk,

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 o ...

to use as a telegraph office. His grand daughter Edith Rogers served as a MLA in the Manitoba Legislature.

Legacy

Mount Christie in

Jasper National Park Jasper National Park is a national park in Alberta, Canada. It is the largest national park within Alberta's Rocky Mountains spanning . It was established as a national park in 1930 and declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. Its locatio ...

in the

Canadian Rockies The Canadian Rockies (french: Rocheuses canadiennes) or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost part ...

was named for him by

James Hector Sir James Hector (16 March 1834 – 6 November 1907) was a Scottish-New Zealand geologist, naturalist, and surgeon who accompanied the Palliser Expedition as a surgeon and geologist. He went on to have a lengthy career as a government employe ...

in 1859.

References

External links

Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online (CHRISTIE, WILLIAM JOSEPH)Biographical Data
HBC Archives (Archives of Manitoba) Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories Hudson's Bay Company people Chief factors Numbered Treaties 1824 births 1899 deaths {{NorthwestTerritories-politician-stub