 In 1870, an Anglo-Canadian force consisting of the 400 men from British King's Royal Rifle Corps with the rest being Ontario militiamen, consisting of 1,044 men in total under the command of General Garnet Wolseley made an gruelling march across northern Ontario to the Red River colony.Riel fled and the rebellion ended without any fighting, and the terms already agreed upon between Smith and Riel were implemented with Manitoba becoming the 5th province

After the Treaty of Washington (1871) and the end of the Fenian raids, the British began to downsize their garrisons in Canada, mainly to move troops to other areas of the Empire, but also due to friendlier relations with the United States, Canada's immediate neighbour, and the only country capable of launching an armed invasion of the country.In 1871, the British garrisons in Canada were almost completely pulled out with British garrisons remaining only in Halifax and Esquimalt.