John A. Macdonald

**Sir John Alexander Macdonald**  (January 11, 1815 – June 6, 1891) was the first and third Prime Minister of Canada. He was an important influence on the Canadian Confederation, July 1, 1867. Macdonald was in office from 1867 to 1873 and again from 1878 to 1891, making him the second longest-serving Prime Minister of Canada (after William Lyon Mackenzie King) and the only one to win six majority governments.

One of the things Macdonald wanted to do was to build a transcontinental railway that would link Canada from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. That railway, called the Canadian Pacific Railway, was completed in 1885.

He is also criticized for taxing every Chinese person trying to get in Canada, and for doing things that hurt indigenous people in Canada.

Macdonald did not speak French as well as the Prime Ministers who came after him. He could speak Scottish Gaelic and a bit of Latin.

Macdonald had four siblings. He was the third of five children.

## Other websites

- The Canadian Museum of Civilization - Face-to-Face - The Canadian Personalities Hall
- John A. Macdonald: Architect of Modern Canada
- John A. Macdonald, Confederation and Canadian Federalism
- Biography at the _Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online_
- "Sir John A. Macdonald, Freemason"
- Synopsis of federal political experience from the Library of Parliament
- Image of The Jamaica with Sir and Lady Macdonald aboard
- John Macdonald's Gravesite
- _Correspondence of Sir John Macdonald; selections from the correspondence of the Right Honorable Sir John Alexander Macdonald, first Prime Minister of the Dominion of Canada, made by his literary executor Sir Joseph Pope_ (1921)
- _Dictionary of Canadian Biography_ article by J. K. Johnson and P. B. Waite
- The John A. Macdonald Portal, edited by Alastair Sweeny

## Infobox (officeholder)

- **name**: Sir John A. Macdonald
- **honorific-prefix**: The Right Honourable
- **image**: John A Macdonald (ca. 1875).jpg
- **signature**: John A Macdonald signature.svg
- **party**: Conservative Party of Canada (1867-1942), Conservative
- **governor general1**: Charles Monck, 4th Viscount Monck, The Viscount Monck
John Young, 1st Baron Lisgar, The Lord Lisgar
Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, The Earl of Dufferin
- **monarch1**: Queen Victoria, Victoria
- **office1**: 1st & 3rd Prime Minister of Canada
- **predecessor1**: Office established
<small>(see Canadian Confederation)</small>
- **successor1**: Alexander Mackenzie (politician), Alexander Mackenzie
- **term start1**: 1 July 1867
- **term end1**: 5 November 1873
- **successor2**: John Abbott
- **term start2**: 17 October 1878
- **term end2**: 6 June 1891
- **governor general2**: The Earl of Dufferin
John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll, Marquess of Lorne
Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, The Marquess of Lansdowne
Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, The Lord Stanley of Preston
- **monarch2**: Victoria
- **predecessor2**: Alexander Mackenzie
- **birth name**: John Alexander Mcdonald
- **birth date**: January 11, 1815
- **birth place**: Glasgow, Scotland
- **death date**: June 6, 1891 (aged 76)
- **death place**: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- **restingplace**: Cataraqui Cemetery
- **education**: Apprenticeship
- **otherparty**: Upper Canada Tories, Upper Canada Tory (1843–1867)
Great Coalition (1864–1867)
Liberal-Conservative Party, Liberal-Conservative (1867–1873)
- **spouse**:

- **children**: 3 (including Hugh John Macdonald)
- **profession**: Lawyer
- **death cause**: Stroke
- **office5**: Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada, Joint-Premier of the Province of Canada
Premier of Ontario, Premier of Canada West
- **term start5**: 24 May 1856
- **term end5**: 2 August 1858
- **monarch5**: Victoria
- **predecessor5**: Allan MacNab
- **successor5**: George Brown (Canadian politician), George Brown
- **term start6**: 6 August 1858
- **term end6**: 24 May 1862
- **monarch6**: Victoria
- **predecessor6**: George Brown
- **successor6**: John Sandfield Macdonald
- **term start7**: 30 May 1864
- **term end7**: 30 June 1867
- **monarch7**: Victoria
- **predecessor7**: John Sandfield Macdonald
- **successor7**: John Sandfield Macdonald
(as Premier of Ontario)
- **nickname**: "Old Tomorrow"
"The Old Chieftain"
- **allegiance**: British Empire
Upper Canada
- **branch**: Colonial militia in Canada, Loyalist militia
- **serviceyears**: 1837
- **rank**: Private (rank), Private
- **battles**: Rebellions of 1837–1838
*Upper Canada Rebellion
- **footnotes**: ----

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