Yes, both potatoes and whipped cream are common nouns, words for any potatoes and any whipped cream.

A proper noun is a noun is the name of a specific person, place, thing, or a title; for example:

• Papas Potatoes (restaurant), Opelousas, LA
• Whipped Cream Mountain, Comox-Strathcona Regional District, BC, Canada
• Western Potatoes Pty. Ltd., West Perth, WA Australia
• Crimson & Whipped Cream (bakery), Norman, OK

Some prominent waterfalls in Quebec:

Waterfall/Chutes River Height (m)

{| |- | Calcaire

Caniapiscau 22 Chaudiere Chaudiere 40 Coulonge

Coulonge

Granite

Caniapiscau 21 Kabir Kouba

28 Montmorency Montmorency 84 Ouiatchouane Ouiatchouane 79 Canyon Sainte-Anne

55 Schistes

Caniapiscau 18 Sept-Chutes

130 Shawinigan St-Maurice 46 Vaureal

76

|}

SMITH, DONALD ALEXANDER, 1stBaron STRATHCONA and MOUNTROYAL, HBC officer, businessman, politician, diplomat, and philanthropist; b. 6 Aug. 1820 in Forres, Scotland, son of Alexander Smith and Barbara Stuart; m. Isabella Sophia Hardisty, sister of Richard Charles* and William Lucas* Hardisty, and they had one daughter; d. 21 Jan. 1914 in London, England.

Donald Smith was born on Scotland's northeast coast. After attending Forres Academy he was briefly apprenticed to the town clerk. Inspired by the exploits of fur trader John Stuart*, his mother's brother, he sought to join the Hudson's Bay Company. He embarked for Lower Canada on 16 May 1838. Soon after his arrival he was hired as an apprentice clerk in Lachine. A few weeks later he was seconded to Tadoussac under William Connolly*. His starting salary was £20 per annum and rose yearly until he was made clerk in 1842 at a salary of £100. Late in 1843 he was appointed to take charge of the seigneury of Mingan, a territory east of Tadoussac extending to the Labrador coast. Although he was considered thoughtful and enterprising, his administrative methods provoked the ire of HBC governor Sir George Simpson* during an inspection tour of Smith's post in the summer of 1845. Simpson rebuked him for the slovenly condition of the counting-house, irregular methods of bookkeeping, and the late submission of the annual accounts. Simpson's frustration may also have been prompted by Smith's poor handwriting, which only deteriorated over time. In 1846 the Mingan post burned down, but Smith remained in charge until late in 1847 when he left for Montreal to get attention for his eyes, which had apparently been injured in the fire.

In January 1848 Smith was sent to relieve chief factor William Nourse in the Esquimaux Bay district (Hamilton Inlet), Labrador. Accompanied by three native guides and a distant cousin, apprentice clerk James Grant, he travelled overland, reaching North West River in June. On the arrival of chief trader Richard Hardisty and his family in August, Smith was left to manage the post at Rigolet. Hardisty went on furlough in 1852 and partly on his recommendation Smith was appointed chief trader on 7 April. Hardisty's daughter Isabella moved in with Smith and gave birth to their daughter, Margaret Charlotte, on 17 Jan. 1854. Isabella, whose mother was of native and Scottish parentage, had married James Grant in July 1851, likely in a ceremony performed by her father. She had given birth to a son, James Hardisty Grant, in July 1852, but the couple had separated soon after, apparently by mutual consent. The circumstances of Smith's marriage proved to be a lifelong embarrassment to him. His wife's first alliance, à la façon du pays, and its termination had no legal standing. Smith was impelled to have his union solemnized on several occasions. Partly at Simpson's suggestion and to put an end to gossip, he conducted his own wedding ceremony in North West River in June 1859, although he generally used 9 March 1853 as the official date of their marriage. Later in life they were married at the Windsor Hotel in New York City on 9 March 1896 before his Wall Street lawyers, John William Sterling and Thomas Gaskell Shearman. Throughout their lives the couple endured gossip, but it did not affect Smith's devotion to his wife. When apart he wrote or cabled her every day. Her son took his surname and Smith assisted him in numerous ways. At Smith's death, newspapers speculated that his stepson would demand a share of the estate, but he renounced any claim. James Hardisty Smith was left his stepfather's country house in Pictou, N.S., and the income from a trust fund of $125,000 established for his children.

In his Labrador post Smith had proved to be enterprising and innovative. His administrative methods earned him occasional reproaches from Simpson, but he developed profitable sidelines to the fur trade, encouraging the HBC to invest in transport ships and developing a successful salmon cannery. In 1862 he was promoted chief factor in charge of the Labrador district. His promotion brought him more frequently to the company headquarters in Montreal, where in 1865 he first met his cousin George Stephen*. By that time Stephen was a substantial investor in textile mills and rolling-stock companies. Within several years they would be in partnership with leaders of the Montreal business community. Stephen provided investment advice and Smith offered him help selling his woollen goods to the HBC. In 1868 Smith joined Stephen, Richard Bladworth Angus*, and Andrew Paton* in the Paton Manufacturing Company of Sherbrooke. The following year he was a partner with Stephen, Hugh* and Andrew* Allan, Edwin Henry King*, and Robert James Reekie in the Canada Rolling Stock Company.

Smith's knowledge of the HBC's operations and opportunities was remarked on when, on furlough in London in 1865, he met its new administrators. Controlling interest in the HBC had been acquired by the International Financial Society in 1863 in a transaction which transformed it from a privately held company into a public firm with shares trading on the London stock exchange. The new directors were as much interested in land development as they were in the fur trade, a point which caused endless anxiety to the wintering partners in Canada, most of whom believed colonization to be incompatible with the fur trade. After having ingratiated himself with the London committee, Smith was promoted commissioner of the Montreal department in 1868 to manage the HBC's eastern operations.

In the spring of 1869 negotiations for the transfer of the HBC territories to Canada were concluded in London. In the Red River settlement (Man.) Métis leader Louis Riel* assumed leadership of the resistance to the proposed transfer. On 10 Dec. 1869 Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald* appointed Smith a special commissioner to help defuse the growing tensions. He was to join two other commissioners, Jean-Baptiste Thibault* and Charles-René-Léonidas d'Irumberry* de Salaberry. Smith arrived at Upper Fort Garry (Winnipeg) on 27 Dec. 1869 accompanied by Richard Charles Hardisty. He used his influence as an HBC officer and bribes to attempt a peaceful settlement and to secure the release of members of the Canadian party [see Sir John Christian Schultz*] who had been incarcerated since 7 December. After his meeting with Riel on 6 Jan. 1870, he concluded that negotiations with Riel's council would not accomplish anything. A public meeting was held on 19 and 20 January at which Smith presented the instructions he had received from Macdonald and the government's promise to confirm the inhabitants' land titles and to grant representation on a territorial council. Riel responded by proposing a convention of 40 representatives to consider Smith's instructions. On 7 February Smith invited the convention to send a delegation to Ottawa to negotiate. In the meantime Schultz, Charles Mair*, and Thomas Scott* had raised a group of volunteers to overthrow Riel and rescue those he had imprisoned. Most of the volunteers were promptly captured by Riel's men near Upper Fort Garry on the 15th of that month. Charles Arkoll Boulton* and three others were sentenced to death, but Riel relented after he obtained a promise from Smith to secure support for the provisional government from the English parishes of the settlement. Smith's pleas for clemency were not successful, however, in averting the execution of Scott on 4 March. Smith and Hardisty left Upper Fort Garry 15 days later to report to Macdonald in Ottawa.

Fresh from his success in Red River, Smith was appointed president of the HBC's Council of the Northern Department, since William Mactavish*, HBC governor of Rupert's Land and governor of Assiniboia, had resigned because of ill health. In June he attended its meeting at Norway House (Man.) and then left for Red River, arriving in August with Colonel Garnet Joseph Wolseley, leader of the military expedition sent to pacify the rebellion. At Wolseley's request he served briefly as acting governor of Assiniboia until the arrival of Adams George Archibald*, lieutenant governor of Manitoba and the North-West Territories. Asked to stay on as temporary head of the Northern Department, Smith would play a leading role in negotiating with the Canadian government the implications of the transfer and in reorganizing the HBC's operations in the northwest. A deed poll of 1871 transformed the profit-sharing arrangement with the wintering partners which had governed the company's fur trade operations since 1821. Henceforward, chief factors and chief traders were to be guaranteed an annual income and were to share in the profits of the fur and general trade, but not in the profits from the sale of HBC land or territories. Smith's role in this negotiation was vital for the company and for his career. At Norway House the previous spring he had been mandated by the wintering partners to represent them before the governor and committee. The resulting agreement pleased the majority of them, but evoked bitter criticism from several who accused Smith of sacrificing them to advance his own career and of forfeiting their claim to a share of the company's land sales. Smith was rewarded for his deft negotiation with the nomination of chief commissioner, which brought him a salary of £1,500 and exempted him from the profit-sharing agreement he had negotiated. As the HBC's executive officer in Canada, he would lead the firm's transformation into a land and colonization company.

Apparently encouraged by his superiors, Smith had become increasingly active in the politics of the northwest. On 20 Oct. 1870 he had been appointed to the executive council by Archibald, who had, however, unknowingly exceeded his authority [seeSir Francis Godschall Johnson*]. Late that December he defeated Schultz in his bid to sit for Winnipeg and St John in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. In a by-election on 2 March 1871 Smith was elected to the House of Commons for Selkirk, and he was re-elected in the general election of 1872. Although a Conservative, Smith did not take an active role in partisan politics. So one-dimensional were his interventions that he was referred to as the honourable member for the HBC. He spoke sparingly in the commons, on issues touching Manitoba and the northwest.

On 5 Nov. 1873 Smith helped to bring down Macdonald's government. He had long been angry that Macdonald had ignored his repeated requests for repayment of his expenses as commissioner to Red River. Called to vote on a motion to censure the government over the Pacific Scandal, he pressed his claim once more, but Macdonald, in an advanced state of depression and intoxication when the two men met, only made matters worse. With Smith's defection Macdonald's already diminished majority was lost. The event left Macdonald embittered and strained the relations between the two men in the years to follow.

The federal government had abolished the double mandate in May 1873, so Smith resigned his provincial seat the following January. In the federal election of 1874 his opponent was his sometime partner and friend Andrew Graham Ballenden Bannatyne*, who the Manitoba Free Press suggested was a straw man put forward to ensure Smith's victory. His relationship with Conservative members of the commons was characterized by bitter exchanges and insults. Smith's bill was not settled until 1875, when the motion to pay him £600 plus interest passed only after a rancorous debate. In the general election of 1878 Smith defeated former lieutenant governor of Manitoba Alexander Morris* in Selkirk by 10 votes, aided by generous support from the Free Press. Two ardent Conservatives, David Young* and Archibald Wright, protested the election on the grounds of corrupt practices. They were at first unsuccessful, but appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada and Smith was unseated in 1880. In the ensuing by-election on 10 September Smith was defeated and withdrew from politics.

As chief commissioner of the HBC, Smith modernized the company's slow and costly transportation network. The HBC, and many of its principal shareholders acting as private investors, became directly involved in these developments, which transformed the northwest. He encouraged the company to build its own fleet of steamboats to move goods on lakes Winnipeg and Winnipegosis. In May 1872 the HBC launched the Chief Commissioner, named in his honour, but it proved unsuitable for the rough waters of Lake Winnipeg. Other vessels were more successful and were soon profitable. Although Smith's early transportation efforts showed all the signs of ill planning, subsequent attempts rapidly demonstrated their effectiveness.

During the early 1870s Smith was involved in the formation of businesses in Manitoba. In 1872 he sponsored bills to incorporate the Bank of Manitoba, the Central Telegraph Company, and the Manitoba Insurance Company, which he founded with Bannatyne and Sir Hugh Allan. While none of these businesses were very prosperous, they indicate that he was increasingly the individual through whom many in the Montreal financial community were investing in Manitoba. His business interests elsewhere were also multiplying. In 1872, along with Stephen, Bennett Rosamond*, and Donald McInnes*, he became a shareholder in the Canada Cotton Manufacturing Company, and 10 years later he would join with Stephen and Stephen's brother-in-law, James Alexander Cantlie, to provide capital to found the Almonte Knitting Company, an expansion of Rosamond's firm.

Smith profited from his position in the HBC to survey business opportunities both for the company and for himself. In the early 1870s the HBC was being solicited to take an interest in railways and Smith himself was involved in a number of ventures. A syndicate which included Smith, Stephen, Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt*, George Laidlaw*, and others applied for a charter to build the Manitoba Junction Railway from Pembina (N.Dak.) to Fort Garry in 1871 and many of the same men sought a charter to build from Fort Garry to Fort William (Thunder Bay, Ont.). By 1872 Smith's name was linked with the proposed railway to the Pacific, although he publicly denied his involvement. In 1875 he was among the incorporators of the Manitoba Western Railway, which was to run from Lake Manitoba to St Joseph (Walhalla, N.Dak.).

Undoubtedly, Smith's business ventures distracted him from his management of the HBC's affairs. He received periodic rebukes from Governor Sir Stafford Henry Northcote who complained that he had to report on land sales based on information gleaned from newspapers. Inspecting chief factor William Joseph Christie*, after his return from an inspection of the company posts in January 1873, fumed that Smith was neglecting the fur trade. Christie travelled to England to report to the London committee about the negligent management of the company's affairs. Smith followed to plead his own case. Christie eventually resigned when no action was taken. In July 1873, however, the HBC formally separated the fur trade and land sales operations and made Smith land commissioner, placing him in charge of the company's western operations other than the fur trade. James Allan Grahame* succeeded him as chief commissioner in 1874.

Smith's interest in steamers had brought him in close contact with businessmen from St Paul, Minn., including James Jerome Hill and Norman Wolfred Kittson*, a shipping agent for the HBC since 1862. Smith had met Hill during the Riel rebellion and they shared an interest in improving transportation in the northwest. In 1872 Hill, Kittson, and Smith (acting for the HBC) formed the profitable Red River Transportation Company. During 1873 and 1874 Smith conferred with Hill about the possibility of acquiring the St Paul and Pacific Railroad. Under construction from St Paul north to the Red River since the 1860s, it had fallen into receivership. In March 1876 Hill met Smith in Ottawa to finalize a partnership agreement. Although he and Kittson had extensive experience in transportation, they had little capital. Smith went to Stephen. Stephen turned to the established New York banking house of J. S. Kennedy and Company and to the Bank of Montreal, of which he was president. By March 1878 the group had obtained control of the railway and had begun building north to the border. At the same time Stephen and Smith attempted to negotiate an agreement with the Liberal government of Alexander Mackenzie* to lease the line it was building from St Boniface to Pembina, and encountered strong opposition from Conservative leaders in parliament. The syndicate completed the line to the border in November 1878 and then went on to connect with the Canadian line. The first train arrived in St Boniface on 3 December. The following May the St Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railroad Company was created with Smith as a director, owning one-fifth of its shares. The investment was the foundation of his, Stephen's, and several other fortunes. Soon after its completion the line showed an operating profit and consistently produced extraordinary dividends and returns.

In 1878 Smith was delegated by the wintering partners of the HBC to present their demand for an annual salary of £200 for each share to the London committee. The HBC offered £150, which the officers at first rejected. In the face of obdurate directors and shareholders, Smith was able to persuade his colleagues to accept the offer. Although he had lost the support of some commissioned officers, most acknowledged that Smith was the best person to represent them since no one else had the same weight with the board or the shareholders.

On 25 Feb. 1879 Smith resigned as land commissioner, claiming that his "private affairs" required more of his attention, but he remained as an adviser to the company. His growing involvement in railways brought him into direct conflict with his successor, Charles John Brydges*, who had been appointed to consolidate the company's operations. Smith and Brydges would feud on several occasions. Brydges suspected that Smith schemed to ruin the reputation of the HBC and then buy its reduced shares. Smith did indeed acquire considerable stock. By 1882 he had 2,000 shares and between 1883 to 1891 his holdings rose to 4,000 shares. Smith saw Brydges as a challenge to his plans and reputation and as an enemy of the Canadian Pacific Railway. In 1882 a review of Brydges's administration vindicated him, but a supervisory committee consisting of Smith and Sandford Fleming was appointed two years later to advise the London board. Smith's troubles with Brydges may have pushed him to seek control of the HBC, which he would effectively achieve by 1889 when he was the principal shareholder and was elected governor.

In 1880 Stephen had begun negotiations with Macdonald for the contract to build and operate the transcontinental railway. Smith's place in the syndicate organized by Stephen was well known but not publicly announced in deference to the lingering animosity Macdonald and other Conservatives had towards him. Although annoyed by the omission, Smith did not officially become a director until 1883, following Hill's resignation. While he played a secondary role in the management of the railway and its construction, he was a faithful financial lieutenant to Stephen. In addition to being a substantial shareholder in the CPR, he was also a principal shareholder in the railways which had been acquired in order to complete the CPR's eastern lines, the Toronto, Grey and Bruce, the Credit Valley, the Ontario and Quebec, and the New Brunswick. Throughout 1884-85, when financing the CPR became increasingly difficult, Stephen and Smith pledged their homes, their investments, and their holdings in the St Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba as collateral and took money from their own accounts to provide operating funds. Smith's major importance to the syndicate lay in his financial and moral support; he did not desert the railway as directors Duncan McIntyre*, Hill, and others had done. On 7 Nov. 1885 he drove the last spike during a modest ceremony in Craigellachie, B.C., one of many places in the west named in honour of Smith, Stephen, or their homeland.

When Stephen resigned from the presidency of the CPR on 7 Aug. 1888, Smith apparently expected to be named his successor, but the post went to the vice-president and general manager, William Cornelius Van Horne. Smith remained on the executive committee long after Stephen had retired. As the CPR began its transformation into an operating railway, Smith and Stephen became large investors in the many companies which were its dependencies, such as the Lake of the Woods Milling Company Limited [see Robert Meighen], the Canada North West Land Company [see William Bain Scarth*], and the Canadian Salt Company Limited. Along with Van Horne and Stephen, Smith invested heavily in Vancouver real estate. Although less than enamoured of the returns of the CPR, Stephen and Smith combined to protect it from competitors. In 1888 they extended its reach into the United States by acquiring the Minneapolis, St Paul and Sault Ste Marie and the Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic. In 1888 Smith was a founding partner, along with R. B. Angus, Van Horne, and Charles Rudolph Hosmer, in the Federal Telephone Company, which ran the telephone service in Montreal until it sold out to the Bell Telephone [see Charles Fleetford Sise] in 1891. In 1893 Smith was part of the syndicate put together by Boston financier Henry Melville Whitney* to form the Dominion Coal Company Limited. Smith's holdings in the CPR were relatively minor. In 1901 he held only 5,000 shares. He and Stephen reserved their most substantial railway investments for Hill's expanding railway empire. Their St Paul shares were converted on several occasions, after Hill acquired controlling interest in the Great Northern and other railroads. When the Northern Pacific, the Great Northern, and a third line, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, were briefly combined in 1901 into a holding company, the Northern Securities Company Limited, Smith was the third largest shareholder after Hill and John Stewart Kennedy, with 54,000 shares then worth $115 each.

Smith was involved in a legion of corporations as a shareholder, director, or chairman. His involvement with the Bank of Montreal began in 1872 when he was first appointed to the board. He was made vice-president in June 1882 and president in 1887. Although not entirely ceremonial, his role at the bank was largely limited to board and annual meetings. George Alexander Drummond* acted as de facto president for much of Smith's tenure. In 1904 Smith asked to be replaced and the following year he was appointed honorary president, a title he held until his death. Guaranteed to bring respectability and a personal investment, Smith was often asked to serve as chairman of fledgling financial institutions. In 1891 he became the first president of the Montreal Safe Deposit Company (later Montreal Trust). In 1899 he took on the presidency of the Royal Trust Company, largely formed by directors of the Bank of Montreal. He sat on many boards, including those of the London and Lancashire Life Assurance Company, the Paton Manufacturing Company, the New Brunswick Railway Company, the Dominion Coal Company, the Northern Life Assurance Company, the London and Canadian Loan and Agency Company, the International Commercial Association, and the Canadian Bankers' Association.

Sometimes on his own behalf, sometimes acting for others, Smith had interests in several Canadian newspapers. In 1882 he unsuccessfully attempted to acquire the Toronto Globe in order to stem its criticism of the CPR [see Robert Jaffray]. In 1888 he loaned money to the editor of the Manitoba FreePress, William Fisher Luxton*. He called in the loan five years later and took control of the paper. Luxton was removed and replaced with one of the CPR's publicity agents. The paper was sold to Clifford Sifton* in 1898.

After re-entering the House of Commons as an independent Conservative for Montreal West in 1887, Smith was re-elected in 1891 with the largest majority in Canada. At the urging of the Governor General Lord Aberdeen [Hamilton-Gordon*], in February 1896 he attempted to broker an agreement between the Manitoba government of Thomas Greenway* and Roman Catholic leaders who opposed the creation of a single, publicly funded, non-denominational school system. His negotiations with Father Albert Lacombe, Archbishop Adélard Langevin, and Greenway were not sufficient to generate support for the remedial legislation introduced by the government of Sir Mackenzie Bowell. In his last speech in the commons, on 19 March 1896, Smith urged passage of the remedial bill. Bowell, who would resign on 27 April, preferred Smith to Sir Charles Tupper as his successor, but Smith had declined the post. Tupper had become effectively leader of the government after his election in February and he appointed Smith to replace him as high commissioner in London on 24 April 1896.

After Wilfrid Laurier took office in July 1896, he retained Smith as high commissioner, but he also permitted his ministers to bypass the high commissioner's office at will. Since the high commissioner was responsible for the supervision of immigration, Sifton, the minister of the interior, worked with him to extend the clandestine network for the enticement of immigrants from Europe by paying bonuses to steamship agents. Although the strategy provoked official protests from the German government, it was maintained. Smith generally advocated liberal immigration policies. His scheme to promote immigration from Barbados was discouraged by Sifton, who thought blacks unsuitable as prairie settlers. Frustrated by Smith's independence, Sifton appointed Liberal organizer William Thomas Rochester Preston* to direct new immigration offices in London on 13 Jan. 1899. Smith and Preston established the North Atlantic Trading Company to bring together steamship agents for the promotion of emigration but rapidly crossed swords on a variety of matters. Preston was eventually removed from office. His dismissal provoked him to write a biography of Smith, The life and times of Lord Strathcona (London, 1914), replete with insinuations that Smith's fortune was built on financial improprieties.

During the politically charged debate over Canadian participation in the South African War, Smith made a public offer to the British government early in 1900 to raise and equip a regiment at his own expense. To avoid controversy the unit was to be recruited in Canada but was to be part of the British army. Samuel Benfield Steele of the North-West Mounted Police was selected to recruit and to command the unit, subsequently known as Lord Strathcona's Horse. The equipping of the regiment, which consisted of 28 officers and 572 non-commissioned officers, was estimated to have cost in excess of $1 million, one of Smith's most munificent donations. Although Smith's offer provided an escape for the Laurier government and was well received by the Canadian public, it was denounced by Henri Bourassa* and other anti-imperialists.

In spite of his age Smith was a tireless worker. He refused to accept his salary of $10,000 as high commissioner. He tendered his resignation in 1909, but Laurier asked him to remain in office. On 30 June 1911 the prime minister announced that he would be replaced by Sir Frederick William Borden, but his government fell before the appointment was made. Smith again offered his resignation when Robert Laird Borden* took office, but it was refused and he remained at the post until his death.

By the conclusion of the South African War Smith was perhaps the most identifiable imperial figure in London. Combining the assets of wealth, maturity, generosity, and vigour, he had an immensely broad appeal. His stature was confirmed in 1904 when he was approached by William Knox D'Arcy, who was searching for oil in Persia, to head a syndicate which would include the Burmah Oil Company. The venture appealed to Smith's belief in the empire and had the approval of various departments of the British government, anxious for a foothold in Persia and for fuel for the British navy. Smith subscribed £50,000 with little hesitation. He also played a role in the Anglo-Persian Oil Company Limited, which was formed out of Burmah Oil to exploit its discoveries in Persia. He became the company's first chairman in February 1909. Although by then an octogenarian, he was far from a titular chairman. He participated in the establishment of the company and its share structure and in the choice of bankers, brokers, and directors. He was the largest individual shareholder, with 30,000 of its 1,000,000 ordinary shares. His influence was also vital in establishing the company as the principal supplier to the British navy. He played a key role in staving off amalgamation with Royal Dutch Shell, persuading the British government to acquire two-thirds of the company's shares, the embryo of British Petroleum. Smith remained chairman until his death and his family continued as substantial shareholders.

Smith's accomplishments brought him a series of honours. Appointed a kcmg in May 1886 for his role in building the CPR, ten years later he was made a GCMG. On 14 April 1896 he had become a member of the Privy Council of Canada. In the spring of 1897 Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain informed him that he was to be made a peer. When news leaked out that he had chosen the title Lord Glencoe, after a glen where Scottish chieftains had been slaughtered in 1692, a glen he had only recently acquired, colleagues prevailed on him to reconsider. He created the name Strathcona, a Gaelic variant on Glencoe. Lobbying by Tupper and Chamberlain allowed his first peerage to be superseded by a second, created on 26 June 1900, permitting the title to pass to the male heirs of his daughter. Smith delivered his maiden speech in the House of Lords in the summer of 1898. He was named a fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1904, when he was given the Albert Medal for his services to railways. He was made a GCVO in 1908 and a knight of grace of the Order of St John of Jerusalem in 1910.

Ranking among the most generous philanthropists of the early 20th century, Smith gave in excess of $7,500,000 in donations and bequests. His first significant benefaction came in 1883, when he contributed $30,000 to the Trafalgar Institute, a girl's school in Montreal. His most important donations came after the completion of the CPR and were often made jointly with Stephen. In 1887 they announced a gift of $1,000,000 for the construction of a free hospital in Montreal and purchased a site on Mount Royal for $86,000. The Royal Victoria Hospital opened in 1893. During 1897 and 1898 Smith endowed the hospital with $1,000,000 in Great Northern Railroad securities. In 1902 he matched Stephen's donation of £200,000 to the King Edward's Hospital Fund, established to assist London's hospitals. He left a bequest of £10,000 to the Leanchoil Hospital in Forres, and £8,000 to other hospitals in the United Kingdom.

Smith's greatest benefactions were reserved for McGill University. On 11 Sept. 1884 he asked Sir John William Dawson*, the principal of McGill, whether the university would accept a gift of $50,000 to endow the first two years of separate classes for women. Although his offer came without prompting from Dawson and did not entirely concur with his views about educating women, McGill accepted. The reasons for Smith's interest in women's education are not known, but historian Margaret Gillett has suggested that Smith was encouraged in these donations to McGill by Montreal educator Lucy Stanynought (Simpson). McGill's first women students were styled the Donaldas, in recognition of the donor. He gave a further $70,000 on 16 Oct. 1886 to pay for the third and fourth years, completing what was to be known as the Donalda Endowment for the Higher Education of Women. In 1896 he began the realization of his promise to build a separate college for women students. He gave $300,000 for the construction of Royal Victoria College and engaged architect Bruce Price* to design the building. When another of McGill's benefactors, Sir William Christopher Macdonald, suggested that the new building would be a financial burden to McGill, Smith established an endowment of $1,000,000. The college was formally opened in 1900.

A generous supporter of McGill's faculty of medicine, Smith had contributed $50,000 to its endowment in 1883. In 1888 his only child, Margaret, married Dr Robert Jared Bliss Howard, son of Dr Robert Palmer Howard*, dean of the faculty. Although Smith and his wife had not viewed the marriage entirely favourably, Smith thereafter became a major benefactor of the faculty, donating $750,000 during his lifetime. He gave funds for the construction of a building at McGill for the Young Men's Christian Association which took the name Strathcona Hall. He provided $100,000 to the minister of militia and defence for officers' training quarters at McGill. Made a trustee of McGill soon after his first gift, he was elected chancellor in 1888 and performed ceremonial roles until his death. In 1894-95 he was responsible for recruiting William Peterson* as principal.

Smith did not confine his donations to McGill. In 1899 he was induced by Joseph Chamberlain, the chancellor of the University of Birmingham, to make a gift of E50,000 to the university's fund-raising campaign. In 1904 he pledged $20,000 to the University of Manitoba. He had been involved in the affairs of the colleges which would eventually form the university since the early 1870s when he offered a land grant from the HBC as the site for Wesley College and began 40 years' service (1874-1914) on the board of management of Manitoba College. Nevertheless, he ignored the university in his bequests. He was rector of the University of Aberdeen from 1899 to 1902 and acted as chancellor until his death. For its quatercentenary in 1906 he gave a feast that was legendary in its time, building a 3,000-seat hall for the event. He gave $500,000 to Yale University, £10,000 to the University of Aberdeen and £30,000 to its Marischal College, and donations to other universities and colleges in Canada, Great Britain, and the United States too many to mention. His chancellorships and benefactions prompted at least 14 universities to grant him honorary degrees.

His other gifts are so numerous that they cannot be fully itemized. In 1902, for instance, he made about 120 donations, large ones to universities and smaller ones to such organizations as churches, snowshoe clubs, boys' brigades, and monasteries. His benefactions were sometimes anonymous and at other times highly publicized. A patron of music, he endowed scholarships in Montreal and at the Royal College of Music in England to enable Canadians to study there. Encouraged by the minister of militia and defence, Sir Frederick William Borden, Smith made a donation towards military training for the young. The Strathcona Trust, as the fund came to be known, was the catalyst which led communities and schools to promote drill and physical training. With his gifts of more than $500,000, the trust developed the cadet movement, which by 1913 had 40,000 members. He donated $150,000 to fund YMCA buildings in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Nova Scotia. Godfather to the son of Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, he assisted the formation of the Boy Scout movement and left a bequest to aid its development in Canada. He was the principal supporter of Wilfred Thomason Grenfell*, the English doctor who founded missions to the communities along the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador. He gave Grenfell a steamer, the Sir Donald, for use as a hospital ship and replaced it in 1899 with the steel steamer Strathcona. A parishioner of St Paul's Presbyterian Church in Montreal, he made an anonymous donation of an organ to it and left a bequest of $25,000 to the Presbyterian College of Montreal.

Smith earned a reputation for his lavish hospitality. In Manitoba he bought Silver Heights, formerly the residence of Lieutenant Governor Archibald. Dignitaries marvelled at his gardens and the Highland cattle he introduced to Canada. In Montreal he purchased a house on Dorchester Street (Boulevard René-Lévesque) which he expanded three times, transforming it into a brownstone mansion with an extensive conservatory and a staircase that reportedly cost $50,000. In 1895 he acquired Duncan McIntyre's adjacent mansion to use as a guest house. In 1900 he commissioned Edward Maxwell* to add a conservatory to connect the two residences.

In his mansion he exhibited his collection of paintings and decorative arts. Smith acquired largely academic paintings, mostly those which had been included in exhibitions of the Paris Salon or the Royal Academy of Arts in London. In 1891 he was president of the Art Association of Montreal and his collection included works by Canadian artists Cornelius Krieghoff*, Otto Reinhold Jacobi*, John Arthur Fraser*, and Homer Ransford Watson*. He frequently invited visitors to see his collection; some, such as Lord Minto [Elliot], thought the "taste of the house appalling." His mansion was also home to an enormous collection of objets d'art, including a large selection from the Orient. The contents of the house were valued at $550,000, $219,000 for the pictures and $210,000 for Japanese antiques. More than 100 paintings were donated to the Art Association of Montreal by his grandson in 1928.

Vice-regal and royal visitors frequently stayed in Smith's houses. Both in London and in Montreal, he was one of the leaders of society. The Dominion Day event he hosted annually in London saw more than 1,000 Canadian and imperial dignitaries mingling in their finery at his expense. Indeed, the popularity of the event and the advantage of having a rich man in the high commissioner's office may have been one reason why Laurier kept him there. Smith leased Knebworth House in Hertfordshire from Lord Lytton in 1899 and then purchased Debden Hall in Essex for f 138,000 for use as a country house in 1903. In 1894 he had acquired a large estate in the Scottish Highlands, the site of the battle of Glencoe. There he built a spacious house equipped with electricity and central heating and employed a large staff. The glen would be acquired by the National Trust for Scotland in 1935. In 1904 Smith purchased Colonsay in the Inner Hebrides. He rarely visited the island but it became the favourite haunt of his reclusive family. He is credited with having stabilized its economy and with stemming its depopulation.

Smith's personal tastes were plain: he preferred soda water to whisky, slept no more than six hours a night, and ate two simple meals per day, citing porridge as his favourite dish. His endurance was remarkable. Even as an octogenarian he outworked most men in his office.

Isabella Smith died in London on 12 Nov. 1913. Once she and her husband had left the fur trade outposts and moved into Winnipeg, Montreal, and then London society, she had endured derision and prejudice. She was privately dismissed as "a dour old hoddy doddy squaw," and "our lady of the snows," by the English aristocrats who accepted her hospitality. Smith and his daughter were protective of her reputation, and ensured under threat of legal action that passages regarding her native blood and her marital history were excised from several biographies. Smith died on 21 Jan. 1914 and was interred next to his wife in a magnificent mausoleum in London's Highgate Cemetery. His entire estate was valued at $28,867,635. Since his early days in Labrador, he had provided financial support to his extended family. He established trusts worth more than $26,500,000 for his heirs and successors.

Already a prominent figure in Canadian life at the time of his appointment to London, he came to personify the image of success which the empire offered its citizens. His public image of a refined philanthropist was cultivated to mask a career which had included enormous hardship and occasional ruthlessness. His rapid rise within the HBC in the 1860s was propelled by good timing, effective salesmanship, and solid connections. He was the only one in his generation of HBC officers who combined experience with financial interests in Montreal and a seat in Ottawa. This unique combination enabled him to seize the opportunities which were presented and to advance the HBC's interests and his own.

Smith initiated the HBC's aggressive development of western transportation. He realized more clearly than his superiors that railways and land were the future for both the west and the company. Even when his interests multiplied, he never left the HBC, but he gave it sporadic attention for the final 30 years of his life. The last of the HBC's imperial governors, he was also the only one in the company's history to have risen from the lowest rank to the highest one. His 75-year association with the firm remains a record.

In his political career Smith demonstrated poor judgement bred by indifference to the political process. Never comfortable with the boundaries imposed by the electorate or the party, he was initially viewed as the member for the HBC, but he more properly became known as the member for his own interests. His peripheral involvement in politics none the less allowed him to play key roles in major events of Canadian parliamentary life. In contrast, he exhibited both daring and brilliance in his investments and business associations. As the individual who brought Hill and Stephen together, he provided the impetus for some of the most profitable railways in North America. Although he was rarely the leading member in business endeavours, he was involved in many of the major corporate successes of the 1880s and 1890s. An investor rather than a financier, he could be counted on for the twin virtues of a substantial investment and enormous patience. As chairman of several large financial and trust companies, he was an ideal figurehead, providing a well-recognized image of grace, success, and solidity.

In society Smith sought a large role and assumed his place with vigour. Never entirely at ease because of the stigmas attached to his wife's native blood and the rumours about their marriage, he acquired all the trappings of Victorian society. Unlike many of his business colleagues on both sides of the Atlantic, however, he was generous with his ideas and time, and he was a donor of remarkable range and generosity. While he built no enduring business empire or charitable trusts, neither did he wield power to the detriment of people or continents. He remains the foremost example of the Canadian rags-to-riches story.

Alexander Reford

Sir John Alexander Macdonald, GCB, KCMG, PC, PC (Can), QC (11 January 1815 - 6 June 1891) was the first Prime Minister of Canada. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, his political career spanned almost half a century. Macdonald served 19 years as Canadian Prime Minister; only William Lyon Mackenzie King served longer.

Macdonald was born in Scotland; when he was a boy his family emigrated to Kingston, Upper Canada (today in eastern Ontario). He articled with a local lawyer, who died before Macdonald qualified, and Macdonald opened his own practice, although not yet entitled to do so. He was involved in several high-profile cases and quickly became prominent in Kingston, which enabled him to seek and obtain a legislative seat in 1844. He served in the legislature of the colonial Province of Canada and by 1857 had become premier under the colony's unstable political system.

When in 1864 no party proved capable of governing for long, Macdonald agreed to a proposal from his political rival, George Brown, that the parties unite in aGreat Coalition to seek federation and political reform. Macdonald was the leading figure in the subsequent discussions and conferences, which resulted in the British North America Act and the birth of Canada as a nation on 1 July 1867.

Macdonald was designated as the first Prime Minister of the new nation, and served in that capacity for most of the remainder of his life, losing office for five years in the 1870s over the Pacific Scandal (bribery in the financing of the Canadian Pacific Railway). After regaining his position, he saw the railroad through to completion in 1885, a means of transportation and freight conveyance that helped unite Canada as one nation. Macdonald is credited with creating a Canadian Confederation despite many obstacles, and expanding what was a relatively small colony to cover the northern half of North America. By the time of his death in 1891, Canada had secured most of the territory it occupies today.

• 1 Early years, 1815-1830
• 2 Law career, 1830-1843
  • 2.1 Legal training and early career, 1830-1837
  • 2.2 Legal prominence, 1837-1843
• 3 Political rise, 1843-1864
  • 3.1 Parliamentary advancement, 1843-1857
  • 3.2 Colonial leader, 1857-1864
• 4 Confederation of Canada, 1864-1867
• 5 Prime Minister of Canada
  • 5.1 First term, 1867-1871
  • 5.2 Second term and Pacific Scandal, 1872-1873
  • 5.3 Opposition, 1873-1878
  • 5.4 Third and fourth terms, 1878-1887
  • 5.5 Fifth and sixth terms, 1887-1891; death
• 6 Legacy and tributes
• 7 References
• 8 Further reading
• 9 External links

The Macdonalds initially lived with another family, but then resided over a store which Hugh Macdonald ran. Soon after their arrival, John's younger brother James died from a blow to the head by a servant who was supposed to look after the boys. After Hugh's store failed, the family moved to Hay Bay, west of Kingston, where Hugh unsuccessfully ran another shop. His father, in 1829, was appointed a magistrate for the Midland District.[3] John Macdonald's mother was a lifelong influence on her son, helping him in his difficult first marriage and remaining a force in his life until her 1862 death.[4]

John initially attended local schools. When he was aged 10, his family scraped together the money to send him to Midland District Grammar School in Kingston.[4] Macdonald's formal schooling ended at 15, a common school-leaving age at a time when only children from the most prosperous families were able to attend university.[5] Nevertheless, Macdonald later regretted leaving school when he did, remarking to his private secretary Joseph Pope that if he had attended university, he might have embarked on a literary career.[6]

A few months after he opened his first law office in 1835, Macdonald moved with his parents and sisters to this 2 1⁄2-storey stone house on Kingston's Rideau Street.

Macdonald travelled by steamboat to Toronto (known until 1834 as York), where he passed an examination set by the Law Society of Upper Canada, including mathematics, Latin, and history. British North America had no law schools in 1830; students were examined when beginning and ending their tutelage; between the two examinations, they were apprenticed, or articled to established lawyers.[10] Macdonald began his apprenticeship with George Mackenzie, a prominent young lawyer who was a well-regarded member of Kingston's rising Scottish community. Mackenzie practised corporate law, a lucrative speciality that Macdonald himself would later pursue.[11] Macdonald was a promising student, and in the summer of 1833, managed the Mackenzie office when his employer went on a business trip to Montreal and Quebec in Lower Canada (today the southern portion of the province of Quebec). Later that year, Macdonald was sent to manage the law office of a Mackenzie cousin who had fallen ill.[12]

In August 1834, George Mackenzie died of cholera. With his supervising lawyer dead, Macdonald remained at the cousin's law office in Hallowell (todayPicton, Ontario). In 1835, Macdonald returned to Kingston, and even though not yet of age nor qualified, began his practice as a lawyer, hoping to gain his former employer's clients.[13] Macdonald's parents and sisters also returned to Kingston, when Hugh Macdonald became a bank clerk.[14]

Soon after Macdonald was called to the Bar in February 1836, he arranged to take in two students; both became, like Macdonald, Fathers of Confederation.Oliver Mowat became premier of Ontario, and Alexander Campbell a federal cabinet minister and Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.[7] One early client was Eliza Grimason, an Irish immigrant then aged sixteen, who sought advice concerning a shop she and her husband wanted to buy. Grimason would become one of Macdonald's richest and most loyal supporters, and may have also become his lover.[15] Macdonald joined many local organisations, seeking to become well known in the town. He also sought out high-profile cases, representing accused child rapist William Brass. Brass was hanged for his crime, but Macdonald attracted positive press comments for the quality of his defence.[16] According to his biographer, Richard Gwyn:

As a criminal lawyer who took on dramatic cases, Macdonald got himself noticed well beyond the narrow confines of the Kingston business community. He was operating now in the arena where he would spend by far the greatest part of his life --- the court of public opinion. And while there he was learning the arts of argument and of persuasion that would serve him all his political life.[17]

Although most of the trials resulting from the Upper Canada Rebellion took place in Toronto, Macdonald represented one of the defendants in the one trial to take place in Kingston. All the Kingston defendants were acquitted, and a local paper described Macdonald as "one of the youngest barristers in the Province [who] is rapidly rising in his profession".[19]

Battle of the Windmill, near Prescott, Upper Canada, 13 November 1838

In late 1838, Macdonald agreed to advise one of a group of American raiders who had crossed the border to liberate Canada from what they saw as the yoke of British colonial oppression. The inept invaders had been captured after the Battle of the Windmill (near Prescott, Ontario), in which 16 Canadians were killed and 60 wounded. Public opinion was inflamed against the prisoners, as they were accused of mutilating the body of a dead Canadian lieutenant. Macdonald biographer Donald Creighton wrote that Kingston was "mad with grief and rage and horror" at the allegations. Macdonald could not represent the prisoners, as they were tried by court martial and civilian counsel had no standing. At the request of Kingston relatives of Daniel George, paymaster of the ill-fated invasion, Macdonald agreed to advise George, who, like the other prisoners, had to conduct his own defence.[20] George was convicted and hanged.[21]According to Macdonald biographer Donald Swainson, "By 1838, Macdonald's position was secure. He was a public figure, a popular young man, and a senior lawyer."[22]

Because of the unrest, the British Parliament merged Upper and Lower Canada into the Province of Canada effective in 1841; Kingston became the initial capital of the new province; Upper Canada and Lower Canada became known as Canada West and Canada East.[23]

Macdonald continued to expand his practice while being appointed director of many companies, mainly in Kingston. Macdonald became both a director of and a lawyer for the new Commercial Bank of the Midland District. Throughout the 1840s Macdonald invested heavily in real estate, including commercial properties in downtown Toronto.[24] Meanwhile, he was suffering from some illness, and in 1841, his father died. Sick and grieving, he decided to take a lengthy holiday in Britain in early 1842. He left for the journey well supplied with money, as he spent the last three days before his departure gambling at the card game loo and winning substantially.[25] Sometime during his two months in Britain, he met his first cousin, Isabella Clark. As Macdonald did not mention her in his letters home, the circumstances of their meeting are not known.[26] In late 1842, Isabella journeyed to Kingston to visit with a sister.[27] The visit stretched for nearly a year before John and Isabella Macdonald married on 1 September 1843.[28]

Portrait of Isabella Clark Macdonald, artist unknown.

In February 1843, Macdonald announced his candidacy for the post of alderman in Kingston's Fourth Ward.[29] On 29 March 1843, Macdonald celebrated his first election victory, with 156 votes against 43 for his opponent, a Colonel Jackson. He also suffered what he termed his first downfall, as his supporters, carrying the victorious candidate, accidentally dropped him onto a slushy street.[28]

In March 1844, Macdonald was asked by local businessmen to stand as Conservative candidate for Kingston in the upcoming legislative election.[30] Macdonald followed the contemporary custom of supplying the voters with large quantities of alcohol.[31] In the era preceding the secret ballot when votes were publicly declared, Macdonald defeated his opponent, Anthony Manahan, by 275 "shouts" to 42 when the two-day election concluded on 15 October 1844.[32] At that time, the Legislative Assembly met in Montreal. Macdonald was never an orator, and especially disliked the bombastic addresses of the time. Instead, he found a niche in becoming an expert on election law and parliamentary procedure.[33]

In 1844, Isabella fell ill. She recovered, but the illness recurred the following year, and she became an invalid. John Macdonald took his wife to Savannah, Georgia, in the United States in 1845, hoping that the sea air and warmth would cure her ailments. Although John Macdonald was able to return to Canada after six months, Isabella remained in the United States for three years.[34] He visited her again in New York at the end of 1846, and returned several months later when she informed him she was pregnant.[35] In August 1847 their son John Alexander Macdonald Jr. was born, but as Isabella remained ill, relatives cared for the infant.[36]

Although he was often absent due to his wife's illness, Macdonald was able to gain professional and political advancement. In 1846, he was made a Queen's Counsel. The same year, he was offered the non-cabinet post of Solicitor General, but declined it. In 1847, the Joint Premier, William Henry Draper, appointed Macdonald as Receiver General.[37] Accepting the government post required Macdonald to give up his law firm income[38] and spend most of his time in Montreal, away from Isabella.[37] When elections were held in December 1847 and January 1848, Macdonald was easily reelected for Kingston, but the Conservatives lost seats and were forced to resign when the legislature reconvened in March 1848. Macdonald returned to Kingston when the legislature was not sitting, and Isabella joined him there in June.[37] In August, the child John Jr. died suddenly.[39] In March 1850 Isabella Macdonald gave birth to another boy, Hugh John Macdonald, and his father wrote, "We have got Johnny back again, almost his image."[40] Macdonald began to drink heavily around this time, both in public and in private, which Patricia Phenix, who studied Macdonald's private life, attributes to his family troubles.[41]

The Liberals, or Grits, maintained power in the 1851 election, but soon, they were divided by a parliamentary scandal. In September, the government resigned, and a coalition government uniting parties from both parts of the province under Sir Allan MacNab took power. Macdonald did much of the work of putting the government together and served as Attorney General. The coalition which came to power in 1854 became known as the Liberal-Conservatives (referred to, for short, as the Conservatives). In 1855, George-Étienne Cartier of Canada East (today Quebec) joined the Cabinet. Until Cartier's 1873 death, he would be Macdonald's political partner. In 1856, MacNab was eased out as premier by Macdonald, who became the leader of the Canada West Conservatives.[42] Though the most powerful man in the government he remained as Attorney General, with Sir Étienne-Paschal Taché as premier.[43]

John A. Macdonald in 1858

In July 1857, Macdonald departed for Britain to promote Canadian government projects.[44] On his return to Canada, he was appointed premier in place of the retiring Taché, just in time to lead the Conservatives in a general election.[45] Macdonald was elected in Kingston by 1,189 votes to 9 for John Shaw, who was subsequently hanged in effigy; however, other Conservatives did badly in Canada West, and only French-Canadian support kept Macdonald in power.[46] On 28 December, Isabella Macdonald died, leaving John A. Macdonald a widower with a seven-year-old son. Hugh John Macdonald would be principally raised by his paternal aunt and her husband.[47]

In 1856, the Assembly had voted to move the seat of government permanently to Quebec City. Macdonald had opposed that, and used his power to force the Assembly to reconsider in 1857. Macdonald proposed that Queen Victoria decide which city should be Canada's capital. Opponents, especially from Canada East, argued that the Queen would not make the decision in isolation; she would be bound to receive informal advice from her Canadian ministers. Nevertheless, Macdonald's scheme was adopted, with Canada East support assured by allowing Quebec City to serve a three-year term as the seat of government before the Assembly moved to the permanent capital. Macdonald privately asked the Colonial Office to ensure that the Queen would not respond for at least 10 months, or until after the general election.[48] In February 1858, the Queen's choice was announced, much to the dismay of many legislators from both parts of the province: the isolated Canada West town of Ottawa.[49]

On 28 July 1858, an opposition Canada East member proposed an address to the Queen informing her that Ottawa was an unsuitable place for a national capital. Macdonald's Canada East party members crossed the floor to vote for the address, and the government was defeated. Macdonald resigned, and the Governor General, Sir Edmund Walker Head, invited opposition leader George Brown to form a government. Under the law at that time, Brown and his ministers lost their seats in the Assembly by accepting office, and had to face by-elections. This gave Macdonald a majority pending the by-elections, and he promptly defeated the government. Head refused Brown's request for a dissolution of the Assembly, and Brown and his ministers resigned. Head then asked Macdonald to form a government. The law allowed anyone who had held a ministerial position within the last thirty days to accept a new position without needing to face a by-election; Macdonald and his ministers accepted new positions, then completed what was dubbed the "Double Shuffle" by returning to their old posts.[50] In an effort to give the appearance of fairness, Head insisted that Cartier be titular premier, with Macdonald as his deputy.[51]

In the late 1850s and early 1860s, Canada enjoyed a period of great prosperity. The railroad and telegraph improved communications. According to Macdonald biographer Richard Gwyn, "In short, Canadians began to become a single community."[52] At the same time, the provincial government became increasingly difficult to manage. An act affecting both Canada East and Canada West required a "double majority"-a majority of legislators from each of the two sections of the province. This led to increasing deadlock in the Assembly.[53] The two sections each elected 65 legislators, even though Canada West had a larger population. One of Brown's major demands was "rep by pop", that is, representation by population, which would lead to Canada West having more seats, and was bitterly opposed by Canada East.[54]

The American Civil War led to fears in Canada and in Britain that once the Americans had concluded their internecine warfare, they would invade Canada again. Britain asked the Canadians to pay a part of the expense of defence, and a Militia Bill was introduced in the Assembly in 1862. The opposition objected to the expense, and Canada East representatives feared that French-Canadians would have to fight in a British-instigated war. At the time, Macdonald was drinking heavily, and he failed to provide much leadership on behalf of the bill. The government fell over the bill, and the Grits took over under the leadership of John Sandfield Macdonald (no relation to John A. Macdonald).[55] John A. Macdonald did not remain out of power long; the parties remained closely matched, with a handful of independents able to destroy any government. The new government fell in May 1863, but Head allowed a new election, which made little change to party strength. In December 1863, Canada West MP Albert Norton Richards accepted the post of Solicitor-General, and so had to face a by-election. John A. Macdonald campaigned against Richards personally, and Richards was defeated by a Conservative. The switch in seats cost the Grits their majority, and they resigned in March. John A. Macdonald returned to office with Taché as titular premier. The Taché-Macdonald government was defeated in June. The parties were deadlocked to such an extent that, according to Swainson, "It was clear to everybody that the constitution of the Province of Canada was dead".[56]

The Quebec Conference. Macdonald seated, fourth from left

As his government had fallen again, Macdonald approached the new Governor General, Lord Monck, and obtained a dissolution. Before he could act on it, he was approached by Brown through intermediaries; the Grit leader felt that the crisis gave the parties the opportunity to join together for constitutional reform. Brown had led a parliamentary committee on confederation among the British North American colonies, which had reported back just before the Taché-Macdonald government fell.[57] Brown was more interested in representation by population; Macdonald's priority was a federation that the other colonies could join. The two compromised and agreed that the new government would support the "federative principle"-a conveniently elastic phrase. The discussions were not public knowledge, and Macdonald stunned the Assembly by announcing that the dissolution was being postponed because of progress in negotiations with Brown-the two men were not only political rivals, but were known to hate each other.[58]

The parties resolved their differences, joining in the Great Coalition, with only the Parti Rouge of Canada East, led by Jean-Baptiste-Éric Dorion, remaining apart. A conference, called by the Colonial Office, was scheduled for 1 September 1864 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; theMaritimes were to consider a union. The Canadians obtained permission to send a delegation to what became known as the Charlottetown Conference. Macdonald, Cartier, and Brown led the Canadians in Charlottetown. At the conclusion of the conference, the Maritime delegations expressed a willingness to join a confederation if the details could be worked out.[59]

In October 1864 delegates for confederation met in Quebec City for the Quebec Conference, where the Seventy-Two Resolutions were agreed to-they would form the basis of Canada's government.[60]The Great Coalition was endangered by Taché's 1865 death: Lord Monck asked Macdonald to become premier, but Brown felt that he had as good a claim on the position as his coalition partner. The disagreement was resolved by appointing another compromise candidate to serve as titular premier, Narcisse-Fortunat Belleau.[61]

In 1865, after lengthy debates, Canada's Legislative Assembly approved confederation by 91 votes to 33.[62] However, none of the Maritimes had approved the plan. In 1866, Macdonald and his colleagues financed pro-confederation candidates in the New Brunswick general election, resulting in a pro-confederation assembly. Shortly after the election, Nova Scotia's premier, Charles Tupper, pushed a pro-confederation resolution through that colony's legislature.[63] A final conference, to be held in London, was needed before the British Parliament could formalise the union. Maritime delegates left for London in July 1866, but Macdonald, who was drinking heavily again, did not leave until November, angering the Maritimers.[64] In December 1866, Macdonald both led the London Conference, winning acclaim for his handling of the discussions, and wooed and won his second wife, Agnes Bernard.[65] Agnes Bernard was the sister of Macdonald's private secretary, Hewitt Bernard; the couple first met in Quebec in 1860, but Macdonald had seen and admired her as early as 1856.[66] In January 1867, while still in London, he was seriously burned in his hotel room when his candle set fire to the chair he had fallen asleep in, but Macdonald refused to miss any sessions of the conference. In February, he married Agnes at St George's, Hanover Square.[67] On 8 March, the British North America Act, which would serve Canada as a constitution for over a century, passed the House of Commons (it had previously passed the House of Lords).[68] Queen Victoria gave the bill Royal Assent on 29 March 1867.[69]

Macdonald had favoured the union coming into force on 15 July, fearing that the preparations would not be completed any earlier. The British favoured an earlier date, and on 22 May, it was announced that the Dominion of Canada would come into existence on 1 July.[70] Lord Monck appointed Macdonald as the new nation's first Prime Minister. With the birth of the Dominion, Canada East and Canada West became separate provinces, known as Quebec and Ontario.[71] Macdonald was knighted on that first observance of what came to be known as Canada Day, 1 July 1867.[72]

Timeline of the evolution of Canada's boundaries since 1867

Macdonald and his government faced immediate problems upon formation of the new country. Much work remained to do in creating a federal government. Nova Scotia was already threatening to withdraw from the union; the Intercolonial Railway, which would both conciliate the Maritimes and bind them closer to the rest of Canada, was not yet built. Anglo-American relations were in a poor state, and Canadian foreign relations were matters handled from London. The withdrawal of the Americans in 1866 from the Reciprocity Treaty had increased tariffs on Canadian goods in US markets.[73] Much of present-day Canada remained outside confederation-in addition to the separate colonies of Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, and British Columbia, which remained governed by the British, vast areas in the north and west belonged to the British and to the Hudson's Bay Company.[74] American and British opinion was that the experiment of Confederation would quickly unravel, and the nascent nation absorbed by the United States.[75]

In August 1867, the new nation's first general election was held; Macdonald's party won easily, with strong support in both large provinces, and a majority from New Brunswick.[76] Parliament convened in November,[77] surprisingly without Brown, who was defeated in Ontario and never served as a member of the House of Commons of Canada.[78] By 1869, Nova Scotia had agreed to remain part of Canada after a promise of better financial terms-the first of many provinces to negotiate concessions from Ottawa.[79] Pressure from London and Ottawa failed to gain the accession of Newfoundland, whose voters rejected a Confederation platform in a general election in October 1869.[80][81]

Macdonald in 1870, age 55

In 1869, John and Agnes Macdonald had a daughter, Mary. It soon became apparent that Mary had ongoing developmental issues. She was never able to walk, nor did she ever fully develop mentally.[82] Hewitt Bernard, Deputy Minister of Justice and Macdonald's former secretary, also lived in the Macdonald house in Ottawa, together with Bernard's widowed mother.[83] John Macdonald himself fell ill in 1870 with a gallstone which took him two months to pass. He convalesced in Prince Edward Island, most likely conducting discussions aimed at drawing the island into Confederation at a time when some there supported joining the United States.[84] The island joined Confederation in 1873.[85]

Macdonald had once been tepid on the question of westward expansion of the Canadian provinces; as Prime Minister he became a strong supporter of a bicoastal Canada. Immediately upon Confederation, he sent commissioners to London who in due course successfully negotiated the transfer of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory to Canada.[86] The Hudson's Bay Company received $1,500,000, and retained some trading posts as well as one-twentieth of the best farmland.[87] Prior to the effective date of acquisition, the Canadian government faced unrest in the Red River Colony (today southeasternManitoba, centred on Winnipeg). The local people, including the Métis, were fearful that rule would be imposed on them which did not take into account their interests, and rose in the Red River Rebellion led by Louis Riel. Unwilling to pay for a territory in insurrection, Macdonald had troops put down the uprising before the 15 July 1870 formal transfer, but as a result of the unrest, the Red River Colony joined Confederation as the province of Manitoba, while the rest of the purchased lands became the North-West Territories.[88]

"We don't want you here." Annexation to the United States was a political issue in Canada's early days. In this anti-annexation cartoon from 1869 by "Grinchuckle", Uncle Sam is given the boot by Young Canada as John Bull looks on approvingly.

Macdonald also wished to secure the Colony of British Columbia. There was interest in the United States in bringing about the colony's annexation, and Macdonald wished to ensure his new nation had a Pacific outlet. The colony had an extremely large debt that would have to be assumed should it join Confederation. Negotiations were conducted in 1870, principally during Macdonald's illness and recuperation, with Cartier leading the Canadian delegation. Cartier offered British Columbia a railroad linking it to the eastern provinces within 10 years. British Columbia quickly agreed and joined Confederation in 1871.[89] The Canadian Parliament ratified the terms after a debate over the high cost that cabinet member Alexander Morris described as the worst fight the Conservatives had had since Confederation.[90]

There were continuing disputes with the Americans over deep-sea fishing rights, and in early 1871, an Anglo-American commission was appointed to settle outstanding matters between the British (and Canadians) and the Americans. Canada was hoping to secure compensation for damage done byFenians raiding Canada from bases in the United States. Macdonald was appointed a British commissioner, a post he was reluctant to accept as he realised Canadian interests might be sacrificed for the mother country. This proved to be the case; Canada received no compensation for the raids and no significant trade advantages in the settlement, which required Canada to open her waters to American fishermen. Macdonald returned home to defend the Treaty of Washington against a political firestorm.[91]

In early 1872, Macdonald submitted the treaty for ratification, and it passed the Commons with a majority of 66.[93] The general election was held through late August and early September (future Canadian elections would be conducted, for the most part, on one day). Redistribution had given Ontario increased representation in the House; Macdonald spent much time campaigning in the province, for the most part outside Kingston. Widespread bribery of voters took place throughout Canada, a practice especially effective in the era when votes were publicly declared; in future elections the secret ballotwould be used. Macdonald and the Conservatives saw their majority reduced from 35 to 8.[94] The Liberals (as the Grits were coming to be known) did better than the Conservatives in Ontario, forcing the government to rely on the votes of Western and Maritime MPs who did not fully support the party.[95]

"Whither are we drifting?" Macdonald is shown triumphant at obtaining a prorogation, but is trampling a weeping Canada and apparently drunk with bottle in pocket in this August 1873 cartoon by John Wilson Bengough. Macdonald is depicted claiming clean hands, but with "Send me another $10,000" written on his palm.

Macdonald had hoped to award the charter for the railway in early 1872, but negotiations dragged on between the government and the financiers. Macdonald's government awarded the Allan group the charter in late 1872. In 1873, when Parliament opened, Liberal MP Lucius Seth Huntingtoncharged that government ministers had been bribed with large, undisclosed political contributions to award the charter. Documents soon came to light which substantiated what came to be known as the Pacific Scandal. The Allan-led financiers, who were secretly backed by the United States's Northern Pacific Railway,[96] had donated $179,000 to the Tory election funds, they had received the charter, and Opposition newspapers began to publish telegrams signed by government ministers requesting large sums from the railway interest at the time the charter was under consideration. Macdonald had taken $45,000 in contributions from the railway interest himself. Substantial sums went to Cartier, who waged an expensive fight to try to retain his seat in Montreal East (he was defeated, but was subsequently returned for the Manitoba seat of Provencher). During the campaign Cartier had fallen ill with Bright's disease, which may have been causing his judgment to lapse;[97] he died in May 1873 while seeking treatment in London.[97]

Even before Cartier's death, Macdonald attempted to use delay to extricate the government.[98] The Opposition responded by leaking documents to friendly newspapers. On 18 July, three papers published a telegram dated August 1872 from Macdonald requesting another $10,000 and promising "it will be the last time of asking".[99] Macdonald was able to get a prorogation of Parliament in August by appointing a Royal Commission to look into the matter, but when Parliament reconvened in late October, the Liberals, feeling Macdonald could be defeated over the issue, applied immense pressure to wavering members.[100]

On 3 November, Macdonald rose in the Commons to defend the government, and according to his biographer P.B. Waite, gave "the speech of his life, and, in a sense, for his life".[101] He began his speech at 9 p.m., looking frail and ill, an appearance which quickly improved. As he spoke, he consumed glass after glass of gin and water. He denied that there had been a corrupt bargain, and stated that such contributions were common to both political parties. After five hours, Macdonald concluded,

I leave it with this House with every confidence. I am equal to either fortune. I can see past the decision of this House either for or against me, but whether it be against me or for me, I know, and it is no vain boast to say so, for even my enemies will admit that I am no boaster, that there does not exist in Canada a man who has given more of his time, more of his heart, more of his wealth, or more of his intellect and power, as it may be, for the good of this Dominion of Canada.[101]

Macdonald's speech was seen as a personal triumph, but it did little to salvage the fortunes of his government. With eroding support both in the Commons and among the public, Macdonald went to the Governor General, Lord Dufferin on 5 November and resigned; Liberal leader Alexander Mackenzie became the second Prime Minister of Canada. Following the resignation, Macdonald returned home and told his wife Agnes, "Well, that's got along with", and when asked what he meant, told Agnes Macdonald of his resignation, and stated, "It's a relief to be out of it."[102] He is not known to have spoken of the events of the Pacific Scandal again.[103] When Macdonald announced his resignation in the Commons, Conservative and Liberal MPs traded places on the benches of the House of Commons, though one Conservative MP, British Columbia's Amor de Cosmos remained in his place, thereby joining the Liberals.[104]

On 6 November 1873, Macdonald offered his resignation as party leader to his caucus; it was refused. Mackenzie called an election for January 1874; the Conservatives were reduced to 70 seats out of the 206 in the Commons, giving Mackenzie a massive majority.[105] The Conservatives bested the LIberals only in British Columbia; Mackenzie had called the terms by which the province had joined Confederation "impossible".[106] Macdonald was returned in Kingston but was unseated on an election contest when bribery was proven; he won the ensuing by-election by 17 votes. According to Swainson, most observers viewed Macdonald as finished in politics, "a used-up and dishonoured man".[107]

By 1876, Macdonald and the Conservatives had adopted protection as party policy-part of the so-called National Policy, which was widely promoted in speeches at a number of political picnics, held across Ontario during the summer of 1876. Macdonald's proposals struck a chord with the public, and the Conservatives began to win a string of by-elections. By the end of 1876, the Tories had picked up 14 seats as a result of by-elections, reducing Mackenzie's Liberal majority from 70 to 42.[111] Despite the success, Macdonald considered retirement, wishing only to reverse the voters' verdict of 1874-he considered Charles Tupper his heir apparent.[112]

In this Bengough cartoon, Macdonald (centre, ankles crossed) rides the elephant of the National Policy into power in the 1878 election, trampling the Liberals underfoot. Prime Minister Mackenzie is also being strangled by the elephant's trunk.

When Parliament convened in 1877, the Conservatives were confident and the Liberals defensive.[113] After the Tories had a successful session in the early part of the year, another series of picnics commenced in a wide belt around Toronto. Macdonald even campaigned in Quebec, which he had rarely done, leaving speechmaking there to Cartier.[114] More picnics followed in 1878, promoting proposals which would come to be collectively called the "National Policy": high tariffs, rapid construction of the transcontinental railway (the Canadian Pacific Railway or CPR), rapid agricultural development of the West using the railroad, and policies which would attract immigrants to Canada.[115] These picnics allowed Macdonald venues to show off his talents at campaigning, and were often lighthearted-at one, the Tory leader blamed agricultural pests on the Grits, and promised the insects would go away if the Conservatives were elected.[116]

The final days of the 3rd Canadian Parliament were marked by explosive conflict, as Macdonald and Tupper alleged that MP and railway financier Donald Smith had been allowed to build the Pembina branch of the CPR (connecting to American lines) as a reward for betraying the Conservatives during the Pacific Scandal. The altercation continued even after the Commons had been summoned to the Senate to hear the dissolution read, as Macdonald spoke the final words recorded in the 3rd Parliament: "That fellow Smith is the biggest liar I ever saw!"[117]

The election was called for 17 September 1878. Fearful that Macdonald would be defeated in Kingston, his supporters tried to get him to run in the safe Conservative riding of Cardwell; having represented his hometown for 35 years, he stood there again. In the election, Macdonald was defeated in his riding by Alexander Gunn, but the Conservatives swept to victory.[118] Macdonald remained in the House of Commons, having quickly secured his election for Marquette, Manitoba; elections there were held later than in Ontario. His acceptance of office vacated his parliamentary seat, and Macdonald decided to stand for the British Columbia seat of Victoria, where the election was to be held on 21 October. Macdonald was duly returned for Victoria,[119][120] although he had never visited either Marquette or Victoria.[121]

Macdonald in November 1883, age 68

Part of the National Policy was implemented in the budget presented in February 1879. Under that budget, Canada became a high-tariff nation like the United States and Germany.[122] The tariffs were designed to protect and build Canadian industry-finished textiles received a tariff of 34%, but the machinery to make them entered Canada free.[123] Macdonald continued to fight for higher tariffs for the remainder of his life.[124] As the budget moved forward, Macdonald studied the railway issue, and found the picture unexpectedly good. Although little money had been spent on the project under Mackenzie, several hundred miles of track had been built and nearly the entire route surveyed. In 1880, Macdonald found a syndicate, led by George Stephen, willing to undertake the CPR project. Donald Smith (later Lord Strathcona) was a major partner in the syndicate, but because of the ill will between him and the Conservatives, Smith's participation was initially not made public, though it was well-known to Macdonald.[125] In 1880, the Dominion took over Britain's remaining Arctic territories, which extended Canada to its present-day boundaries, with the exception of Newfoundland, which would not enter Confederation until 1949.[126] Also in 1880, Canada sent its first diplomatic representative abroad, Sir Alexander Galt as High Commissioner to Britain.[127] With good economic times, Macdonald and the Conservatives were returned with a slightly decreased majority in 1882. Macdonald was returned for the Ontario riding of Carleton.[128]

The transcontinental railroad project was heavily subsidised by the government. The CPR was granted 25,000,000 acres (100,000 km2; 39,000 sq mi) of land along the route of the railroad, and $25,000,000 from the government. In addition, the government was pledged to build $32,000,000 of other railways to support the CPR. The entire project was extremely costly, especially for a nation with only 4.1 million people in 1881.[129] Between 1880 and 1885, as the railway was slowly built, the CPR repeatedly came close to financial ruin. Not only was the terrain in the Rocky Mountains difficult, the route north of Lake Superior proved treacherous, as tracks and engines sank into the muskeg.[130] When Canadian guarantees of the CPR's bonds failed to make them salable in a declining economy, Macdonald obtained a loan to the corporation from the Treasury-the bill authorizing it passed the Senate just before the firm would have become insolvent.[131]

Macdonald uses his parliamentary majority to roll to victory over Liberal leader Edward Blake and his party in this 1884 cartoon by John Wilson Bengough

As the transcontinental railway neared completion, the Northwest again saw unrest. Many of the Manitoban Métis had moved into the territories. Negotiations between the Métis and the Government to settle grievances over land rights proved difficult, Riel had lived in exile in the United States since 1870, he journeyed to Regina with the connivance of Macdonald's government, who believed he would prove a leader they could deal with.[132] Instead, the Métis rose the following year under Riel in the North-West Rebellion. Macdonald put down the rebellion with militia troops transported by rail, and Riel was captured, tried for treason, convicted, and hanged. Macdonald refused to consider reprieving Riel, who was of uncertain mental health. The hanging of Riel proved bitterly controversial,[133] and alienated many Quebecers (like Riel, Catholic and culturally French Canadian) from the Conservatives-they would realign with the Liberals by the turn of the 20th century.[134]Transporting troops helped the CPR raise money. The railroad was completed on 7 November 1885; Macdonald was notified by CPR manager William Van Horne, who wired him from Craigellachie, British Columbia, where the last spike was driven home.[135]

In the summer of 1886, Macdonald traveled for the first and only time to western Canada, traveling from town to town by private railway car, and addressing large crowds, until reaching Vancouver. Macdonald traveled with his wife, and to get a better view, the two would sometimes sit in front of the locomotive on the train's cowcatcher.[136] On 13 August 1886, Macdonald used a silver hammer and pounded a gold spike to complete the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway.[137]

In 1886, another dispute arose over fishing rights with the Americans. United States vessels had been using treaty provisions allowing them to land in Canada to take on wood and water as a cover for clandestine inshore fishing. Several vessels were detained in Canadian ports, to the outrage of Americans, who demanded their release. Macdonald sought to pass a Fisheries Act which would override some of the treaty provisions, to the dismay of the British, who were still responsible for external relations. The British government instructed the Governor General, Lord Lansdowne, to reserve Royal Assent for the bill, effectively placing it on hold without vetoing it.[138] After considerable discussion, the British government allowed Royal Assent at the end of 1886, and indicated it would send a warship to protect the fisheries if no agreement was reached with the Americans.[138]

A Conservative election poster from 1891

Fearing continued loss of political strength as poor economic times continued, Macdonald planned to hold an election by the end of 1886, but had not yet issued the writ when an Ontario provincial election was called by Macdonald's former student, Liberal Ontario Premier Oliver Mowat. The provincial election was seen as a bellwether for the federal poll. Despite considerable campaigning by the Prime Minister, Mowat's Liberals were returned in Ontario, and increased their majority.[138]Macdonald finally dissolved Parliament on 15 January 1887 for an election on 22 February. During the campaign, Macdonald suffered another blow when the Quebec provincial Liberals were able to form a government (four months after the October 1886 Quebec election), forcing the Conservatives from power in Quebec City. Nevertheless, Macdonald and his cabinet campaigned hard in the winter election, with Tupper (the new High Commissioner to London) postponing his departure to try to bolster Conservative hopes in Nova Scotia. The Liberal leader, Edward Blake, ran an uninspiring campaign, and the Conservatives were returned nationally with a majority of 35, winning easily in Ontario, Nova Scotia and Manitoba. The Tories even took a narrow majority of Quebec's seats despite resentment over Riel's hanging. Macdonald became MP for Kingston once again.[139][140] Even the younger ministers, such as future Prime Minister John Thompson, who sometimes differed with Macdonald on policy, admitted the Prime Minister was an essential electoral asset for the Conservatives.[141]

Blake, whom Macdonald biographer Gwyn describes as the Liberal Party's "worst campaigner until Stéphane Dion early in the twenty-first century",[142] resigned after the defeat, to be replaced by Wilfrid Laurier. Under Laurier's early leadership, the Liberals, who had accepted much of the National Policy under Blake while questioning details, rejected it entirely, calling for "unrestricted reciprocity", or free trade, with the United States. Advocates of Laurier's plan argued that north-south trade made more economic sense than trying to trade across the vast, empty prairies, using a CPR which was already provoking resentment for what were seen as high freight rates. Macdonald was willing to see some reciprocity with the United States, but was reluctant to lower many tariffs.[143] American advocates of what they dubbed "commercial union" saw it as a prelude to political union, and did not scruple to say so, causing additional controversy in Canada.[144]

Sir John A. Macdonald lying in state in the Senate chamber, 8 June 1891.

Macdonald called an election for 5 March 1891. The Liberals were heavily financed by American interests; the Conservatives drew much financial support from the CPR. The 76-year-old Prime Minister collapsed during the campaign, and conducted political activities from his brother-in-law's house in Kingston. The Conservatives gained slightly in the popular vote, but their majority was trimmed to 27.[145] The parties broke even in the central part of the country but the Conservatives dominated in the Maritimes and Western Canada, leading Liberal MP Richard John Cartwright to claim that Macdonald's majority was dependent on "the shreds and patches of Confederation". After the election, Laurier and his Liberals grudgingly accepted the National Policy, and when Laurier himself later became Prime Minister, he adopted it with only minor changes.[146]

Several weeks of rest after the election seemed to restore Macdonald to health. However, in late May, he suffered a stroke, which left him partially paralysed. Vehicles and vessels passing his Ottawa home, Earnscliffe, did so as quietly as possible, while the nation followed the reports from Macdonald's sickroom. "The Old Chieftain" lingered for days, remaining mentally alert, before dying in the late evening of Saturday, 6 June 1891. Thousands filed by his open casket in the Senate Chamber; his body was transported by funeral train to his hometown of Kingston, with crowds greeting the train at each stop. On arrival in Kingston, Macdonald lay in state again in City Hall, wearing the uniform of an Imperial Privy Counselor. He was buried in Cataraqui Cemetery in Kingston, his grave near that of his first wife, Isabella.[147]

Wilfrid Laurier paid tribute to Macdonald in the House of Commons:

In fact the place of Sir John A. Macdonald in this country was so large and so absorbing that it is almost impossible to conceive that the politics of this country, the fate of this country, will continue without him. His loss overwhelms us.[147]

Canadian stamp honouring Macdonald, 1927

A number of sites associated with Macdonald are preserved. His gravesite has been designated a National Historic Site of Canada.[151][152] Bellevue House in Kingston, where the Macdonald family lived in the 1840s, is also a National Historic Site administered by Parks Canada, and has been restored to that time period.[153] His Ottawa home, Earnscliffe, still stands and is today the official residence of the British High Commissioner to Canada.[119] Statues have been erected to Macdonald across Canada;[154] one stands on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.[155] A statue of Macdonald stands atop a granite plinth originally intended for a statue of Queen Victoria in Toronto's Queen's Park, looking south on University Avenue.[156] Macdonald's statue also stands in Kingston's City Park; the Kingston Historical Society annually holds a memorial service in his honour.[157]

Conservative Senator Hugh Segal believes that Macdonald's true monument is Canada itself: "Without Macdonald we'd be a country that begins somewhere at the Manitoba-Ontario border that probably goes throughout the east. Newfoundland would be like Alaska and I think that would also go for Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C. We'd be buying our oil from the United States. It would diminish our quality of life and range of careers, and our role in the world would have been substantially reduced."[149] Macdonald's biographers note his contribution to establishing Canada as a nation. Swainson suggests that Macdonald's desire for a free and tolerant Canada became part of its national outlook: "He not only helped to create Canada, but contributed immeasurably to its character."[158] Gwyn said of Macdonald,

his accomplishments were staggering: Confederation above all, but almost as important, if not more so, extending the country across the continent by a railway that was, objectively, a fiscal and economic insanity ... On the ledger's other side, he was responsible for the CPR scandal, the execution of Louis Riel, and for the head tax on Chinese workers. He's thus not easy to scan. His private life was mostly barren. Yet few other Canadian leaders-Pierre Trudeau, John Diefenbaker for a time, Wilfrid Laurier-had the same capacity to inspire love.[159]

Source: Wikipedia