Prime Minister of Canada, Sir John A. Macdonald, to create a police force. Already planning to establish a police force in the North-West Territories, Macdonald had envisioned a horse mounted brigade based on the idea of the Royal Irish Constabulary. The force would be small; only 300 men could enlist. For an area that covered 480,000 square kilometres, the force would have to be as mobile as possible. Alexander Campbell, the minister of the interior, did not believe sending an armed police force into the North-West Territories was necessary at this time, causing Morris to fear that any delay in training and deployment could be exacerbated further once winter fell. To force their creation, Morris claimed that the Métis and white settlers in the area around Portage la Prairie and Fort Qu'Appelle were experiencing fear and unrest due to the massacre. On September 25, 1873, the government of Canada passed an order-in-council to appoint nine officers of "Mounted Police Force for the North-West Territories". Recruitment began immediately, and the North-West Mounted Police was created. With the new police force patrolling the area, the border could no longer be so easily crossed. The creation of the police force also had a political motive. The investigation into the massacre was to ensure that First Nations in the area were able to trust the Canadian government. The investigation would require international cooperation of two federal governments, and the North-West Mounted Police would take measures to make examples out of international criminals. Although ultimately no prosecution took place, the willingness to seek justice for any Canadian contributed to the establishment of peace between the NWMP and First Nations. As time went on the Cypress Hills Massacre gradually became part of popular knowledge about Canada's past even though the event was never fully closed and dealt with. In media When the news of the Cypress Hills Massacre broke into eastern Canada, it introduced a wave of anti-Americanism. In the news, the American men were described as "American gangsters" and "American scums". The idea that only American frontiersmen could commit this outrage had been maintained in many Canadian written accounts of the massacre. Canadians were not only shocked that the Americans committed such a crime in their country, but now the media was putting an increased negative view on Americans. Canadians believed that Americans would continually murder people on Canadian soil. This fear was summed up