Prime Ministers of Canada

[Luba]

John Alexander Macdonald was an immigrant to Canada. Born in Glasgow, Scotland on January 11, 1815, he came with his parents to Kingston, Ontario in 1820. He practiced law for a time, but found his true vocation at age 29 when he was elected to the Legislative Assembly. He possessed force of personality, a glib tongue and was a vigorous fighter. By 1857, he was Premier of Upper Canada.

Sir John was one of the first to embrace the idea of forming a nation out of Britain's North American colonies. Being a practical politician, he used his diplomatic skills to forge allicances necessary to make Confederation in 1867 possible. He was the foremost of the Fathers of Confederation.

The rest of his political career was dominated by a vigorous effort to overcome regional differences and build a strong nation. He boldly pruchased the west and won British Columbia over to Confederation. He was the driving force in the building of a transcontinental railway to tie the east to west. He pursued an economic policy which promoted development and trade within our nation.

Despite a personal life filled with difficulty and tragedy, he devoted himself to the building of Canada. The young politician of 1844 became the "Old Chieftan" and in June 1891 he died in office. His legacy is our nation, Canada.