John MacGregor (Glasgow MP)

John MacGregor (1797–1857) was a Scottish statistician and politician.

He was the eldest son of David MacGregor and Janet (née Ross) of Drynie, near Stornoway, in the Western Isles of Scotland. The family emigrated to Canada in 1803, sailing to Pictou, Nova Scotia. In 1806, they moved to Covehead on Prince Edward Island. As a young man MacGregor set up as a merchant in Charlottetown. In 1822, he served in the office of high sheriff; he was dismissed as a result of involvement in the dealings of Charles Douglass Smith. Put on trial at Smith's behest, he became popular and in 1824 a member of the House of Assembly. He left Canada, travelling through North America, collecting statistics.

Returning to the United Kingdom, MacGregor set up as a commission agent in Liverpool, in 1827.

In 1836, MacGregor reported to the Board of Trade on the Zollverein. In 1839 he represented the British government in the negotiations with the Kingdom of Naples for a revision of the commercial treaty of 1816. In 1840 he succeeded James Deacon Hume as one of the joint secretaries of the Board of Trade. A strong free-trader, he prompted Joseph Hume's motion for a select committee on import duties, and gave evidence before the committee (July 1840), against protectionism.

On the repeal of the Corn Laws, MacGregor gave up his post at the Board of Trade, and entered politics parliament, He was elected as a Liberal Member of Parliament for Glasgow in July 1847, resigning in 1857 shortly before his death, by becoming Steward of the Manor of Northstead. He spoke frequently on commercial, financial, and colonial questions.

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