The British had been indifferent to the fate of British Columbia until the Alaska Purchase and the new Dominion status (which were almost simultaneous).

London now pays attention, and realizes British Columbia's value as a base for its imperial trade opportunities in the Pacific and the need of the Royal Navy for a station in the region.

Governor Anthony Musgrave proposes an attractive plan for joining Canada, with the Dominion paying off British Columbia's debt and building a new Canadian transcontinental railway that would eliminate the reliance on the American transcontinental.

Meanwhile, the United States is so focused on issues of Reconstruction that few Americans pick up on Secretary of State William Seward's grand dream to expand Manifest Destiny to the Pacific.