 Near the end of his career, he referred to "my Canada Friends, to whose favours I principally owe my present happy circumstances".Once Canada had passed into British hands, Strettell lost no time in taking advantage of the new market now available, a market largely dependent on the fur trade.In the spring of 1761, the first season when the fur trade could be re-established west of Montreal, he was already seeking permission from the Privy Council to send gunpowder to Canada for the Indian trade.