Battle of Seven Oaks The Battle of Seven Oaks was a violent confrontation between the Hudson ' s Bay Company ( HBC ) and the North West Company ( NWC ) , rivals in the fur trade , that took place on 19 June 1816 . It was the climax of a long dispute in western Canada . The Métis people , who fought for the North West Company , called it " the Victory of Frog Plain " ( " la Victoire de la Grenouillière " ) . Background . In 1814 , Miles MacDonell , Governor of the Red River Colony ( the area around present - day Winnipeg , Manitoba ) , issued the Pemmican Proclamation , which prohibited the export of pemmican from the colony for the next year . It was meant to guarantee adequate supplies for the Hudson ' s Bay Colony , but it was viewed by the North West Company as a ploy by employees of the Earl of Selkirk ( majority shareholder of the Hudson ' s Bay Company ) to monopolize the foodstuff , the export of which was important to the North West Company . The local Métis did not acknowledge the authority of the Red River Settlement , and this stand was probably consistent with the Royal Proclamation of 1763 . The Pemmican Proclamation was a blow to both the Métis and North West Company . The North West Company accused the HBC of unfairly monopolizing the fur trade by this edict . As the North West Company floundered under these and other restrictions , the HBC attempted to take it over , but was not successful . Later in 1815 , after several conflicts and suffering from " severe emotional instability " , MacDonnell resigned as governor of the Red River Colony . He was replaced by Robert Semple , an American businessman with no previous experience in the fur trade . Battle . In 1816 a band of mostly Métis ( which included some French - Canadians , English , and Native American employees ) , led by Cuthbert Grant and working for the North West Company , seized a supply of pemmican from the Hudson ' s Bay Company . ( It had been stolen from the Métis . ) They travelled to meet traders of the North West Company , to whom they intended to sell it . They encountered Semple and a group of HBC men and settlers south of Fort Douglas along the Red River at a location known to the English as Seven Oaks , and called " la Grenouillière " ( Frog Plain ) by the Métis . The North West Company sent a French - Canadian , François - Firmin Boucher , to speak to Semple ' s men . He and Semple argued , and a gunfight ensued when the English tried to arrest Boucher and seize his horse . Although early reports said that the Métis fired the first shot and began the fray , the Royal Commissioner W . B . Coltman determined with " next to certainty " that one of Semple ' s men fired first . The Métis were skilled sharpshooters and outnumbered Semple ' s forces by nearly 3 to 1 . They repulsed the attack , killing 21 men , including Governor Semple , while suffering only one fatality . Pierre Falcon , a Métis poet , later celebrated the victory of the Métis in his song " La Chanson de la Grenouillère " . Aftermath . The Métis were exonerated by W . B . Coltman , a Royal Commissioner appointed to investigate the incident . But , Lord Selkirk attempted to prosecute several members of the North West Company for murder , and kept Boucher in prison for nearly two years without specific charges . All trials ended in acquittals , and the remaining charges were dropped . Members of the North West Company counter - sued Selkirk , whose health and influence subsequently declined . Following Selkirk ' s death in 1820 , the two companies merged in 1821 . Cuthbert Grant became an important figure in the new Hudson ' s Bay Company . A plaque commemorating the battle was erected at the intersection of Main Street and Rupertsland Boulevard in the Winnipeg district of West Kildonan , the approximate centre of the battle site . The surrounding neighbourhood was named Seven Oaks after the battle . The site was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1920 . An obelisk was erected in 1891 to commemorate the conflict .