Sir John Alexander Macdonald - biography.

Sir John Alexander Macdonald - biography. First prime minister of Canada and the father of the Confederation Birth January 11, 1815 Death June 6, 1891 Place of Birth Glasgow, Scotland Constituencies Victoria, British Columbia (1878-1882) Carleton, Ontario (1882-1887) Political Party Conservative Terms 1867-1873 1878-1891 Significant Acts Attended the 1864 Québec Conference, where he was a principal drafter of the 72 resolutions for Confederation Played an influential role in creating the British North America Act, which in turn created the Dominion of Canada in 1867 Obtained the admission of Manitoba, British Columbia, and Prince Edward Island to the Dominion of Canada Worked to ensure the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway between 1871 and 1885 Introduced a system of tariffs to aid Canadian industry as part of his 1879 National Policy Allowed the 1885 hanging of Louis Riel, organizer of the Red River Rebellion Career 1844 Won election to the legislative assembly 1847-1848 Served as receiver general 1854-1856 Served as attorney general for Canada West 1857-1862 Served as premier of the province of Canada 1858-1867 Again served as attorney general for Canada West, with a hiatus between 1862 and 1864 1864-1867 Governed in a 'Great Coalition' with George Brown, a liberal leader in West Canada, in an effort to bring about Confederation July 1, 1867 Became prime minister, upon the creation of the Dominion of Canada 1867 Received the title of Knight Commander of the Bath 1873 Resigned the post of prime minister following his involvement in the Pacific Railway scandal 1878 Won election as prime minister upon the Conservative Party's return to power 1878-1883 Served as minister of the interior Did You Know In his later years, Macdonald became a notorious procrastinator, and was nicknamed Old Tomorrow. Macdonald's first son died in infancy and his daughter was born with mental and physical handicaps. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.