John Christian Schultz - Federal Politics

Federal Politics

Manitoba elected its first representatives to the federal House of Commons in March 1871, and Schultz declared himself a candidate in the riding of Lisgar. In a campaign marked by violence and intimidation, he defeated local government supporter Colin Inkster by 315 votes to 65.

Schultz's political affiliations were ambiguous in this period. John A. Macdonald attempted to bring him into the Conservative ranks in 1871, almost certainly with the intent of neutralizing him. These efforts were unsuccessful, and by 1872 Schultz was apparently calling himself an Independent Liberal. He started another local paper, the Manitoba Liberal, before the year was over.

In the federal election of 1872, Schultz defeated his former ally Edward Hay, 273 votes to 128. He defeated Hay a second time in 1874, 285 votes to 216. He was also appointed to the Council of the Northwest Territories in 1872, and served on that board until its restructuring in 1876.

Notwithstanding Schultz's past agitations against the Métis, he was actually a defender of aboriginal rights for most of his time in parliament. He sought better compensation for the aboriginal population covered under Treaty 3, and tried to protect the buffalo from being hunted to extinction. He also sought to provide the west's Métis population with sufficient provisions for farming.

These positions may appear strikingly out of character of Schultz's previous actions, but they can probably be explained by the reduced influence of Louis Riel in the Canadian west after 1875. Most English-speaking aboriginals in the region were opposed to Riel, as were a number of francophone Métis; these groups generally did not consider Schultz as an enemy, nor was he unfavourably disposed toward them. Schultz continued to be a leading opponent of Riel in the 1870s, supporting his expulsion from parliament in 1874 and his five-year banishment from Canada in 1875. (It may also be noted that Schultz stood to benefit financially from some of the policies which he advocated for western Canada's native population.)

Schultz was re-elected by acclamation in the federal election of 1878, as John A. Macdonald's Conservatives won a national victory. Schultz would thereafter identify himself as a Liberal-Conservative and a supporter of Macdonald. Manitoba's population was by this time becoming dominated by Ontario immigrants (Riel's followers having largely abandoned the area), and Schultz was no longer considered a dangerous outsider by the local power structure.

In 1882, Schultz was defeated by Arthur Wellington Ross (also a Conservative), 760 votes to 720. Schultz was in poor health by this time, and many believed that he had little time left to live. Perhaps out of sympathy, John A. Macdonald appointed him to the Senate on September 23, 1882.

Schultz's health subsequently recovered, and he was able to function as an active member of the Senate. He supported prohibition, and continued to defend aboriginal rights against outside incursions.