David Lewis Macpherson
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The Hon. Sir David Lewis Macpherson |
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| Senator for Saugeen, Ontario | |
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In office October 23, 1867 – August 16, 1896 |
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| Appointed by | Royal Proclamation |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
September 12, 1818 Castle Leathers in Inverness parish, Scotland |
| Died | August 16, 1896 (aged 77) at sea en route to Canada |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Cabinet | Minister Without Portfolio (1880–1883) Minister of the Interior (1883–1885) |
| Portfolio | Speaker of the Senate (February 1880 & April 1880 – October 1883) |
Sir David Lewis Macpherson, KCMG PC (September 12, 1818 – August 16, 1896) was a Canadian businessman and political figure. He was a member of the Senate of Canada from 1867 to 1896. He was knighted for his service to the country in 1884.
He was born in Castle Leathers in Inverness parish, Scotland in 1818 and came to Lower Canada with his family in 1835. He became a clerk in the Montreal office of his older brother's shipping business, which transported passengers and freight in Upper and Lower Canada. In 1842, he became a senior partner in the business. In partnership with Alexander Tilloch Galt and Luther Hamilton Holton, Macpherson acquired the shares of the Montreal and Kingston Railway, knowing that their rail line was required as part of a planned railway connection between Montreal and Hamilton. He was part of a contracting firm formed to extend the Grand Trunk Railway in Upper Canada. In 1853, he moved to Toronto. He helped set up the Toronto Rolling Mills Company which supplied track to the Grand Trunk. He also served as a director of the Bank of Upper Canada. In 1864, he was elected to the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada for Saugeen division and, in 1867, he was appointed to the Senate as a Conservative and served until his death.
Macpherson was a member of the arbitration board that dealt with the financial issues associated with the creation of the separate provinces of Ontario and Quebec after Confederation. He led the resistance in the Senate to John Rose's proposed changes to banking legislation and some of Macpherson's proposals made their way into the Bank Act of 1871.
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