John A. Macdonald
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The Right Honourable Sir John A. Macdonald GCB KCMG PC PC QC |
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| 1st Prime Minister of Canada | |
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In office July 1, 1867 – November 5, 1873 |
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| Monarch | Victoria |
| Governor-General |
The Viscount Monck The Lord Lisgar The Earl of Dufferin |
| Preceded by | Office established (see Canadian Confederation) |
| Succeeded by | Alexander Mackenzie |
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In office October 17, 1878 – June 6, 1891 |
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| Monarch | Victoria |
| Governor-General |
The Earl of Dufferin Marquess of Lorne The Marquess of Lansdowne The Lord Stanley of Preston |
| Preceded by | Alexander Mackenzie |
| Succeeded by | John Abbott |
| Leader of the Conservative Party | |
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In office July 1, 1867 – June 6, 1891 |
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| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Sir John Abbott |
| Premier of Canada West | |
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In office May 24, 1856 – August 2, 1858 |
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| Monarch | Victoria |
| Preceded by | Allan MacNab |
| Succeeded by | George Brown |
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In office August 6, 1858 – May 24, 1862 |
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| Monarch | Victoria |
| Preceded by | George Brown |
| Succeeded by | John Sandfield Macdonald |
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In office May 30, 1864 – June 30, 1867 |
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| Monarch | Victoria |
| Preceded by | John Sandfield Macdonald |
| Succeeded by | Office disestablished (see Canadian Confederation) |
| Minister of Justice Attorney General of Canada |
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In office July 1, 1867 – November 5, 1873 |
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| Succeeded by | Antoine-Aimé Dorion |
| Minister of Colonial Militia and Defence | |
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In office 1860–1867 |
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| Preceded by | Étienne-Paschal Taché |
| Succeeded by | George-Étienne Cartier |
| Attorney General of Canada West | |
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In office 1854–1862 |
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| Preceded by | William Buell Richards |
| Succeeded by | John Sandfield Macdonald |
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In office 1864–1867 |
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| Preceded by | John Sandfield Macdonald |
| Succeeded by | John Sandfield MacDonald (Attorney General of Ontario) |
| Member of the Canadian Parliament | |
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In office November 6, 1867 – June 6, 1891 |
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| Constituency |
Kingston Victoria Carleton |
| Member of Parliament of the Province of Canada | |
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In office October, 1844 – June, 1866 |
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| Preceded by | Anthony Manahan |
| Succeeded by | Office disestablished |
| Constituency | Kingston |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
John Alexander Macdonald January 11, 1815 Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom |
| Died | 6 June 1891 (aged 76) Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Resting place | Cataraqui Cemetery, Kingston, Ontario |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Other political affiliations |
Liberal-Conservative |
| Spouse(s) |
Isabella Clark (m. 1843; her death 1857) Agnes Bernard (m. 1867; his death 1891) |
| Children | 3 |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Nickname(s) | "Old Tomorrow" "Old Chieftain" |
| Allegiance |
 Upper Canada
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| Service/branch | Loyalist militia |
| Years of service | 1837–1838 |
| Rank | Private |
| Unit | Kingston militia |
| Battles/wars | |
Sir John Alexander Macdonald GCB KCMG PC PC QC (January 11, 1815 – June 6, 1891) was the first Prime Minister of Canada (1867–1873, 1878–1891). The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, he had a political career which spanned almost half a century. He drank heavily, and in 1873 was voted out during the Pacific Scandal, in which his party took bribes from businessmen seeking the contract to build the Pacific Railway. Macdonald's greatest achievements were building and guiding a successful national government for the new Dominion, using patronage to forge a strong Conservative Party, promoting the protective tariff of the National Policy, and building the transcontinental Canadian Pacific Railway. Economic growth was slow during his years in office, as Canada verged on stagnation; many residents migrated to the fast-growing United States. He fought to block provincial efforts to take power back from Ottawa. His most controversial move was to approve the execution of Métis leader Louis Riel for treason in 1885; it alienated many Francophones.
Macdonald was born in Scotland; when he was a boy his family immigrated to Kingston in the colony of Upper Canada (today in eastern Ontario). As a lawyer he was involved in several high-profile cases and quickly became prominent in Kingston, which elected him in 1844 to the legislature of the colonial United Province of Canada. By 1857, had become premier under the colony's unstable political system.
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