petitions with signatures a tool of liberalism

 As O.O. van Otter
concludes, “the Métis obviously had learned to use the rhetoric of liberalism -- the
arguments for representative institutions and free trade -- as well as the power of its tools -- the petitions laden with signatures.  Their leaders, who articulated the needs and
wished of their people and enjoyed their support, understood the dominant mindset of the period.”35

35 Den Otter, Civilizing the Wilderness, 151, 158-9.