On the 210th anniversary of the birth of Sir John A. Macdonald

Despite his human flaws and despite some policies that do not meet today’s standards of decorum, polite speech and human rights, Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first Prime Minister, accomplished a great deal to create one of the freest nations on earth: Canada.

“Born in 1815 in Glasgow to humble beginnings, Macdonald immigrated to Canada as a young boy. Forced to earn his own living from the age of 15, Macdonald became a successful lawyer before finding his true passion in the art of nation building and politics.

Rising through the ranks, Macdonald become the Joint-Premier of the Province of Canada in 1856. But where most saw a scattering of weak, unconnected colonies and sparsely inhabited lands destined to be annexed by the U.S., Macdonald had a vision for something much more.

He dreamed of a new nation, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, one bound together by a “ribbon of steel” (or national railway), and uniting the various peoples of what was then British North America.

In 1867, Macdonald spearheaded the drive for Confederation, almost single-handedly, through force of will, bringing together the 4 original provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick to form the new country of Canada.

Unsurprisingly, he would be elected Canada’s first Prime Minister and serve as leader of the country through 19 of Canada’s first 24 years. In the 1870s, he would bring PEI, Manitoba, and British Columbia into Confederation realizing his vision of a nation from “sea to sea.”

And, in 1885, he accomplished what almost no one at the time thought possible – completing the transcontinental Canadian Pacific Railway ENTIRELY within Canada’s borders, including (amazingly) through the Canadian Rockies and across the Canadian Shield.

And unlike most countries of the 19th century, he laid the foundations for a lasting and prosperous peace. Avoiding major civil strife, and uniting Canadians with a sense of shared and collective purpose that would prove so essential through the coming World Wars.

He also led the way on social issues, becoming the first leader in the Western World to introduce legislation extending the vote to women.

He also worked to extend the vote to black and Indigenous Canadians, as well as others, increasing Canada’s eligible electorate by 40%.

Of course, he was not perfect. And, of course, he used language and held some views that were ubiquitous in the 19th century.

But he also established one of the great democracies of our world, a country that spans an entire continent, that’s served as a beacon of freedom and opportunity for 150 years.

A country that was not inevitable, but which came into being through the sheer vision and determination of one man, and a handful of others around him.

Or, as his foremost political rival, Wilfrid Laurier, would later say (upon Macdonald’s death), “It may be said without any exaggeration whatever, that the life of Sir John A. Macdonald, from the date he entered Parliament, is the history of Canada.”

(Aaron Gunn to X)

172