On June 25, 1874 Chief Rundle and several other Indigenous leaders from the Treaty 5 area petitioned Alexander Morris—Governor of the North-West Territories for a treaty agreement. The petitioners used two main arguments to justify the need for treaty. First of, the population density was exceeding the territory's capacity to provide the necessities of life. Second, changes in the fur trade transportation system, such as the deployment of steamboats, meant many men faced unemployment and that their families would suffer as a consequence. Seasonal labour associated with the fur trade had long been a source of employment and income for the local economy. They argued that the hunting economy was in need of assistance, and sought to relocate to lands that were suitable for farming. A treaty with the government offered a potential remedy for their declining economic circumstances. The three Saskatchewan First Nations included in Treaty 5 are Cumberland House First Nation, Red Earth First Nation and Shoal Lake First Nation. The Manitoba community of Norway House which faced starvation at the time of treaty, sought to relocate to an area north of Lake Winnipeg where lands were more suitable for agriculture.
By November 1874 the petitioners had not received a response, a treaty was only negotiated when it was beneficial for the Canadian Government. Citing the “Queen’s benevolence” Morris negotiated Treaty 5 in 1875, but as J.R. Miller outlines there were economic imperatives that likely led the Canadian government to negotiate Treaty 5. Although the region had limited agricultural potential, Indian title needed to be extinguished to allow the free travel of steamships along the Saskatchewan River. The opening up of this waterway would provide new methods of transportation that would allow for the rapid shipment of goods to and from the fertile prairies
Since the lands surrounding Lake Winnipeg were not considered as fertile as the Plains, the commissioners did not offer the same treaty terms as those negotiated in Treaties 3 and 4. For example, the peoples of Treaty 5 were to receive a one-time payment of $5 upon signing the treaty, instead of the $12 given to the peoples of Treaties 3 and 4. In addition, Treaty 5 peoples would only receive 160 acres of land per family, which is one-quarter of the land granted to the peoples of Treaties 3 and 4 (although it is the same amount offered to the peoples of Treaties 1 and 2). The rest of the terms and conditions of Treaty 5 were similar to the previously negotiated Numbered Treaties. As a result, there was little room for negotiation on the part of the Indigenous peoples.
PAM, MG12 B1, Morris Papers, reel 2, no. 783. Petition, Rossville, 25 June 1874. PAM, MG12 B2, Morris Papers, reel 5, no. 258, Morris to the Minister of the Interior 21 May 1875.