1801 The NWC obtains the King's domains or Tadoussac Posts. It is ordered that they are to be managed by Angus Shaw in Québec.

1802 The NWC becomes a 92 share agreement. Simon McTavish acquires the seigneury of Terrebonne, where he builds a flour mill, a bakery and a sawmill.

1803 The Americans purchase the Louisiana territory from France. The Lewis and Clark expedition departs in search of a passage to the Pacific Coast. At the same time, partners in the NWC are planning explorations to find the mouth of the Columbia River before the Americans.

1804 Simon McTavish dies. The NWC and the XY Company merge under the name of North West Company. The firm is a 100 share agreement intended to last 18 years. Here begins the most vigourous period of competition with the HBC.

1805 Simon Fraser crosses the Rockies to penetrate in a more southernly direction than Mackenzie in search of the Columbia river. After travelling 3000 miles, he establishes Fort McLeod, the first permanent settlement in British Columbia history. The open valleys and spectacular mountains inspire him and he names the region New Caledonia (New Scotland). Unfortunately, like Mackenzie, he fails to find a navigable stream to the Pacific. He never made it to the Columbia and instead roamed the impassable river that now bares his name.

1806 With competition mounting between the NWC and the HBC, Nor'westers Indians attack the HBC's Fort at Big Falls. The same is done at Reindeer Lake two years later.

1807 David Thompson establishes posts across the Rocky Mountains by way of the Saskatchewan. He builds "Kootanae House" below Lake Windermere. Fort Kaministiquia is renamed Fort William in honor of NWC director and nephew of Simon McTavish, William McGillivray.

1808 The American Fur Company is formed by New York businessman John Jacob Astor, who launches a bold challenge to NWC claims to the Columbia River. In response, David Thompson is sent back in the interior two years later to reassert the British claim at the mouth of the Columbia.

1809 David Thompson heads to the Columbia River. Blocked by Peigan Indians, his trek is slowed as he must find a way to pass their territory without them knowing it, as they fear he will trade guns with their enemies.

1810 The HBC proceeds with a reorganization and it successfully challenges the NWC monopoly in the Athabaska region. It also supports the efforts of the Earl of Selkirk who is interested in establishing an agricultural settlement in what is now southern Manitoba. The Red River Colony project is initiated through a land grant from the HBC. This project is strongly opposed by the NWC and its Métis allies.

1811 In July, David Thompson arrives at the mouth of the Columbia only to find that Americans are already there and that they have built a settlement called Fort Astoria. Nevertheless, he claims the area for the British and the NWC.

1812 War between England and the United States disrupts trade across the continent. The NWC begins operations on the Columbia River of the Pacific coast.

1813 The British capture Astoria, who later purchase the settlement from the Americans for 58 000$.

1814 David Thompson completes the first overall map of the Northwest third of the continent. His map shows the extent of the NWC's fur trading empire and the locations of its numerous posts as well as the posts of its competitors, the American Astor outfit and the HBC. It also indicates the vast extent of exploration still to be undertaken, the tributary rivers and lakes of the Pacific coast, the mountains and the unexplored Arctic.

1815 The War of 1812 ends. Astoria is handed back to the Americans on the grounds of the Treaty of Ghent. After this, the United States forbids the presence of foreign traders in American territory.

1816 The HBC attempts to seize the NWC's Red River's main source of opposition, Fort Gibraltar, as well as its supplies in pemmican. In response, Métis Cuthbert Grant and his men seize HBC posts on the Assiniboine River. After encountering the HBC's local governor, Robert Semple and his men, the Métis kill 21 people including Semple. This is the Battle of Seven Oaks (19 June).

1817 In response to the actions of the NWC, Lord Selkirk occupies Fort William and has NWC directors arrested and sent to Montreal for trial on charges of high-treason, conspiracy and murder. They are acquitted of all charges. The arrests on dubious charges of the most notable NWC wintering partners would remove them from the theatre of competition and aid in the resurgence of the HBC.

1818 Many of the 350 Scottish settlers who had immigrated to Selkirk's Red River colony continue leaving the area, fearing Métis violence.

1819 Publication of a Blue Book called "Papers relating to the Red River Settlement, 1815-1819". The British parliament learns of the unsettling events in the Northwest.

1820 The HBC and the NWC are urged by the British government to arrive at a compromise. The rivalry is costly for both and has become quite unbearable. Lord Bathurst, the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, formally directs the two companies to cease hostilities.

1821 A statute is passed ending competition and ratifying a hastily arranged union between the NWC and the HBC, who merge under the name Hudson Bay Company. George Simpson is made head of the new company, which now holds a powerful monopoly from the coast of Labrador to the Pacific. The Montreal route to Fort William is abandonned in favor of the sea routes, one by way of Hudson bay and the other to the Pacific coast.

1822 McGillivrays, Thain and Co. is formed to take over the assets of the old McTavish, McGillivrays and Co. and to conclude the NWC.

1824 The terms of the union of 1821 are revised and the McGillivray brother pass out of the picture. Edward Ellice remains the only representative of the NWC's interests who was given a seat on the committee of the HBC. In the following years, he had to satisfy the angry creditors of the various firms who had formed the NWC and who had been pushed to bankrupcy.

1867 Canadian Confederation: The provinces making up the new Dominion are Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Canada East (Québec), and Canada West (Ontario).

1869 The vast area controlled by the HBC is taken over by the Government of Canada, an important step in the geographic expansion of the Canadian nation.