John MacDonald

> *"Instead of merely a collection of dependent colonies, Britain will have in us a cordially allied nation; though but one people, we will hold two countries, a second in North America, to stand together in peace or war."* - Sir John MacDonald
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   **Sir John Alexander MacDonald GCB KCMG PC QC (11, January, 1815 - 6, June, 1891)**was a British colonial administrator, banker, businessman, diplomat, land developer, lawyer, politician, soldier, statesman and veteran of the Upper Canada Rebellion. During his career, MacDonald served as thirteenth Attorney-General of the Province of West Canada, sixth Premier of the Province of West Canada, first Attorney-General of the Dominion of Canada, seventh Minister of Crown-Indigenous Affairs, fourth Secretary of State for Interior Affairs, thirteenth President of Her Majesty's Privy Council and first Prime Minister of the Dominion of Canada. He was the architect of the colonial British Kingdoms known as Dominions and the founder of the Dominion of Canada.

MacDonald's administration annexed the Northwest and the Rupert's Land territories to the Dominion of Canada sanctioned by the authority of Queen Victoria, conglomerated the colonies & territories of British North America as the Dominion of Canada, coordinated a colonial settlement programme in the Northwest and Rupert's Land territories, enshrined the *Constitution of the Dominion of Canada*, deployed military forces to suppress the Metis Rebellion of 1869 and Cree-Metis Rebellion of 1885 in service of Queen Victoria, established a mandatory elementary and secondary education programme, the Dominion Police, the Northwest Mounted Police and the Supreme Court of the Dominion of Canada, founded the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, implemented federal trade tariffs, imposed a tax on non-European migrants, instituted a system of racial segregation and oversaw the construction of public railways, residencies, public roads and residential schools throughout the country.

MacDonald personally authored the *Constitution of the Dominion of Canada*, drafted the *British North America Act of 1867* and the*Beringian Act of 1876*, coordinated the settlement of colonists in the Province of Ontario and the Northwest Territory, established federally administrated land reservations and residential schools for Beringian tribes, instigated the Royal Commission on Chinese Immigration of 1855, introduced the *Manitoba Act of 1870*, lead the delegation for Canada at the Washington Conference of 1871, served as Chairman of the Confederation Conference for British North America of 1866 in London and signed the *Anglo-American Treaty of 1871*.

## Trivia

* MacDonald was multilingual and fluent in English, French, Gaelic, Greek and Latin.
* MacDonald was the second longest serving Prime Minister of the Dominion of Canada and the third longest serving head of any self-governing territory in the history of the British Empire, holding office for 18 years, 11 months and 27 days.
* MacDonald was among the earliest advocates for the federation of the colonies of British Australasia, which would be inaugurated as the Dominions of Australia and New Zealand in the decades following his death.