We all know Alaska had been in Russian hands since around the 1730s. It was sold to the USA in 1867 larger due to the fact it was never profitable for the Russians because of excessive transportation costs of people and material, hence ending any significant Russian presence on the American continent forever. But say if, in the 1730s Russia made a more concerted push to colonise western Canada or what is now the NW United States. More appropriation of funds by Tsarist Russia and a more structured policy from St. Petersburg, may have altered the history of North America.
There was a fledging population in Alaska, up to 30,000 to 40,000 colonists and they made incursions into British Columbia forging trade links with local Indian tribes and indulging in the fur trade. Also, the Russians established a trading post in California which existed for around 40 years or so. Incidentally, by 1765 Spanish colonial authorities feared a Russian invasion so much they established expensive outposts in remote areas of California.
In the 1730s, the future of Canada was by no means settled. The Seven Years War was yet to happen and Canada's position as largely a British possession within her American empire was not yet finalised. If the Russians had a presence on the west coast, would the Seven Years War (in America) have turned out differently? And what effect would it have on the development of Canada and for that matter the USA?