Britain's wishes for British North America challenged their early plans for expansion and supported the centralization of their many colonies in British North America. This was a change from their early colonization policies and would have been a surprise to all the colonies involved in a possible Confederacy. Over time, Britain's view of its colonies changed, being a big supporter of railway development (Destinies 9). This did not mean that Britain was severing all ties with its colonies, but rather that its financial responsibility would be greatly reduced as well as the pressure often felt between it and the United States (Destinies 9). This support helped increase the future value of Canada's proposal, as it became a considerably important part of the Confederation package when it was later drafted. Accession of the colonies would ultimately result in the linking of railways, which would create centralization for the colonies, while at the same time ensuring greater prosperity for Britain. If an intercolonial union were to be created, it would allow for a more efficient system of government, allowing provinces to become self-governing in the world and could resist temptations of annexation to the United States. Britain would also have been eager to withdraw its troops from British North America, since the union would likely handle national defense matters. Some level of separation was both necessary and beneficial for Britain and its North American colonies. The Canada-US Reciprocity Treaty was signed into law in 1854 between the United States and the British provinces of North America. It "provided for free trade [in] all natural products, free access of fisheries to... middle of document... upon agreement, "Ottawa denied Manitoba control of its own public lands and natural resources. … [They] remained under the control of the federal government, to be used “for the purposes of the Dominion” (Destines 37). This forced the government to address outstanding issues regarding linguistic and educational rights outside the province in Quebec (Destines 38), although the time spent describing these aspects of the Act yielded better results. Over time, Ontarians quickly moved west and assumed dominant roles in the new province, causing the Métis to move further west. All the work the government did to suppress the Métis, and then to appease them, resulted in the expansion of Canada. Although arguably unconventional and unfair, the government was able to pursue its unwritten desire for expansion as a means of creating national centralization..