Originally, Riel was sent by General Middleton to Winnipeg to stand trial. He left Batoche via the repaired steamer "Northcote" for Saskatoon on May 17, 1885. The Canadian government was uneasy about the prospect of a trial before a 12 member mixed White and Metis jury in Winnipeg, and gave frantic instructions to take Riel to Regina, where he would be entitled to a 6 member jury composed of locals, who were almost exclusively White. Riel arrived at Regina on May 23rd. Riel was imprisoned in Regina, where he was paraded with his Council.

On June 6, Louis Riel had been formally charged with high treason. Dumont and Dumas sent a proposal to the Canadian government. They offered to testify at the trial if a safe conduct pass could be issued. It will prove to everyone that Riel was opposed to war and that Dumont alone was responsible for leading the Metis into battle. When no pass came, Gabriel returned to the jail break plan. He obtained plans of the jail cell . He found out the time the guards were changed. He just needed the right men to help make his attack and he knew right where to get them. Once more he headed for Batoche, but even as he hurried for Batoche the news reached him that his plan had been found out, the guards had been doubled. His friends at Batoche urged him to return to Montana. Without the element of surprise there was no hope of freeing Riel. So with heavy heart Gabriel returned to Montana.

The Trial of the rebels of the Northwest Rebellion began on July 20, 1885.

The Canadian Criminal Code had not yet been codified, so the charge was laid under the English Statute of Treasons, first adopted in the 26th year of King Edward III. One of the definitions of Treason was the levying of war so three charges were laid: one for each of the Metis engagements at Duck Lake, Fish Creek, and Batoche. Riel had acquired American citizenship, and three identical charges were laid alleging the levying of war against the Sovereign by an alien living within the protection of the Sovereign.

Judge Hugh Richardson presided. He was a Stipendiary Magistrate since 1880 and a former Chief Clerk of the Department of Justice.

The Prosecution consisted of:

• Christopher Robinson (son of John Beverly Robinson, who himself had been Crown prosecutor at the Treason Trials held at the Ancaster Assizes in 1814). Robinson was an Orangeman from Ontarian and a Conservative.
• Britton Bath Osler. Assigned to manage the evidence. An Orangeman from Ontarian and a Liberal.
• G.W. Burbidge. Deputy Minister of Justice. A Maritimer.
• Thomas Chase Casgrain. Partner in the law firm of the Minister of Defence, Adolphe Caron. A Quebecer.
• Lietenant-Colonel D.L. Scott. The Mayor of Regina and a Westerner.

The Defence consisted of:

• Francois-Xavier Lemieux. A member of the Quebec legislature and destined to be Chief Justice of Quebec.
• Dr. J.B.R. Fiset. A former Liberal M.P. and childhood friend of Riel's.
• Charles Fitzpatrick. Partner in the law firm of the Minister of Defence, Adolphe Caron and destined to be the Minister of Justice under Laurier and Chief Justice of Canada.
• James Richardson. An able Montreal Lawyer.
• T.C. Johnstone. Winnipeg Lawyer. Soon to be raised to the Bench.

Legal Argument:

1. The prospect of a trial in Regina before a mere magistrate did not please Riel. Without the aid of counsel, Riel first appealed to the Lieutenant General to have his trial moved to the Supreme Court of Canada, where his entire career could be examined and debated: Manitoba, Thomas Scott, Hudson Bay Stores, etc. This request was ignored. Council was appointed.
2. The defence began with an argument, based on law going back to the Magna Carta, that the Canadian Parliament could never have had the authority to allow capital cases to be decided by a mere stipendiary magistrate and six jurors. The Judge rejected this argument.
3. The defence wanted to discuss the grievances that led to the rebellion, but the Judge declared it was Riel on trial and not the Government of Canada.
4. The defence then challenged the six counts of the charge, asking that Riel be charged either as a British subject or an American. The Crown replied Treason could be against natural allegiance or against local allegiance (where aliens are claiming protection of the Sovereign). In the case of Riel, it was both. The Judge rejected this defence argument.
5. The defence then attempted to subpoena various witnesses such as Gabriel Dumont and Napoleon Nault (who were out of the country) and the Deputy Ministers of the Interior and of Indian Affairs (who were in Ottawa). They claimed a proper defence was not possible without such witnesses. The Judge refused to grant the defence subpoena.
6. The defence then attempted to subpoena various medical expert witnesses. The Crown readily agreed, and offered to pay their way.
7. The defence then asked for a month's adjournment, to allow the medical examinations to take place. The Judge refused this request, but did grant a week's adjournment until July 28th.
8. The Defence then based its principal argument on the insanity of Riel.

Hugh Richardson used the week delay in the Riel trial to hold the trial of William Henry Jackson, Riel's Secretary. On July 24th after only half an hour, the Crown collaborated in obtaining a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity. Jackson is sent to a lunatic asylum in Manitoba.

All of Riel's Defence Team were Liberals. Riel was displeased with their intent to plead insanity, and wrote to John A. Macdonald (whom he still thought owed him a favour), requesting that some Conservative lawyers be appointed to assist him. Macdonald did not write back. Riel refused to let his lawyers put the plea of insanity before the court.

On August 1, 1885, the jury found Riel "guilty with a recommendation of mercy." The Judge ignored the recommendation and sentence Riel to hang from the neck until dead. An appeal was made to the Manitoba Court of Appeal in Winnipeg. The Appeal was heard on September 3rd and 4th, 1885, and quickly rejected. An appeal was then made to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. The verdict and the sentence were upheld. It was still possible for the Federal cabinet to recommend to the Governor-General to exercise the Royal Prerogative of mercy and commute Riel's sentence. Sir John A. Macdonald did not know what to do so he yielded to pressure from Ontario and Quebec and granted a third reprieve to enable a medical commission to examine Riel. When the commission was unable to pronounce him insane, the date of execution was set for November 16, 1885. His execution was widely opposed in Quebec and had lasting political ramifications to Canada.

Riel's last written message before his execution was "I have devoted my life to my country. If it is necessary for the happiness of my country that I should now cease to live, I leave it to the Providence of my God". Louis "David" Riel was hanged on November 16, 1885 at Regina, Saskatchewan. On November 19th, a service was sung for the repose of his soul at St. Mary's Church in Regina. On December 9th, his body was returned to St. Vital where it lay in state for 2 days in his mother's house. A requiem mass was sung December 12th at St. Boniface Cathedral and his body was buried in the churchyard. Thus lived and died a man whom is acknowledged today as the founder of the Province of Manitoba and defender of the rights of the Metis and of French Canadians.

Eighteen other Metis were sentenced to jail terms of 10 years. A year later in July, the Canadian Government declared an amnesty for those who had taken part in the 1885 Rebellion.

Middleton became a national hero and he was knighted by the Queen. But later, he was accused of taking furs from a Metis. The resulting scandal ruined his reputation, so he returned to England.

The people of Quebec were angered by the hanging of Riel. On the day after the hanging, 6,000 people marched through the streets of Montreal. A few weeks later, 50,000 upset people gathered to hear speakers criticize the conservative government for the hanging of Riel. Gradually, the powerful Quebec conservative party lost its strength. The Liberal party got into power. For the most part, the Liberals ran the Canadian government for decades to come.

In France, one newspaper said that England could have saved Riel's life with a "mere hint". They claimed that since England had chosen not to interfere, it was like a "slap in the face" to France.

In the United States, many newspapers published strong opinions about Riel. The Chicago Current called the hanging of Riel "a colossal Government blunder", and the New York Independent stated that "his execution must be regarded as unwise if not unjust". The Rochester Post-Express said that Riel "was forced to gain a hearing by violence and murder". The Albany Argus observed that "there has been too much sympathy in some of the newspapers on this side of the border over the fate of this man". The Philadelphia Inquirer came up with the best statement, an accurate prediction, "The ghost of Louis Riel will haunt Canadian statesmen for many a day".

All during the trial of Riel, the Canadian government had been working to provide the Metis with the land grants. They were able to provide the Saskatchewan Metis with all of their requested land grants by the end of 1887. Also, the government had the Metis river lots resurveyed in the method the Metis had originally wanted. This survey was completed in 1889 and 1890.

And so it was that Canada became a country, ruthlessly mowing down anyone in the path of railroad and confederation. It would be many years before the word Metis was heard again in Canada; finally being included as one kind of Canadian Aboriginal People in the late 20th Century. In 1982 Metis were identified by the Constitution Act as being one of three distinct aboriginal races in Canada. Estimates of the number of Metis People who should be recognized as aboriginal go as high as 700,000.

Go onto the Metis involvement on the Prairies during the Great Depression of the 1920s and 30s.