Why did settlement around Edmonton increase after Rupert’s Land was transferred to Canada in 1870?

Following the transfer of Rupert’s Land to the Canadian government in 1870, settlement around Edmonton began to increase because the region was slowly starting to open up for farming.1

While the area had previously been dominated by the fur trade, the transition of the territory facilitated a shift toward agricultural development. This growth was further accelerated in the following decades by the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1891 and successful federal government campaigns designed to lure settlers to the Canadian West.1