Throughout his life, John A. Macdonald had to struggle through many problems. Although all Prime Ministers of Canada have these problems, it's probable that none of them were as extensive in size and number than during the Macdonald era. These difficulties included Confederation, the Hudson's Bay Company, the American threat of invasion and the Métis rebellion. However, struggle through these problems he did, making him one of, if not the greatest leader in Canadian history.
Born at Glasgow, Scotland on January 11, 1815, the Macdonald family emigrated to Kingston in Upper Canada in 1820. While growing up, little John received an excellent education at various grammar and private schools. He began into law and became a moderately successful lawyer. John got into government in 1843 when he was elected to city council in Kingston. After many successful years in politics, John (now a Conservative) found himself to be the Premier of the Province of Canada.
As more time passed, Macdonald found himself thinking about an interesting proposal. George Brown, the leader of the Reform Party, offered a coalition to Macdonald to carry Confederation. For Macdonald, this changed everything. He and his colleagues spent the summer of 1864 formulating a solid proposal for the Maritimes. This proposal came to the floor during the Charlottetown Conference on September 1, 1864. Deemed a great success, the delegates met again at the Quebec Conference to tie up many of the loose ends. Macdonald held an important role during this conference, and it was he who proposed a government centered in Ottawa.
After much more work, delegates from the provinces of Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia travelled to England in 1866 and worked out the details of a bill that would become the British North America Act. This broke up the Province of Canada into Ontario and Quebec, and set up the new government of the Dominion of Canada in Ottawa. The BNA Act became law on July 1, 1867. John A. Macdonald was recognized for his hard work and was knighted. He was also asked by the Governor General to form the country¹s first government. So he had suddenly become Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada¹s first Prime Minister and the 'Father of Confederation'.
So Confederation had passed, but there were still many problems for Macdonald to address. First and foremost of those problems was the threat of Americans moving in on Canada. The Americans had just purchased Alaska from the Americans for $7.2 million dollars, and British Columbia would have been a perfect passage between the U.S. and Alaska. Macdonald and his Conservative government had to act quick. It seemed that British Columbia was interested in joining Confederation, but there were two immediate problems, and one that they hadn't considered.
The first problem was that there was a lack of communication between Canada and British Columbia. There were no roads or railways. Second, in order to build roads and railways, they would have to negotiate a deal with the Hudson's Bay Company, which owned all of the land between Ontario and British Columbia.
The first problem was solved in 1869. Canada purchased Rupert's Land from the Hudson's Bay Company for £300 000 or $1.5 million. This included over 3.9 million km2 or 390 million ha. That works out to about one penny for every 3 ha of land. That¹s a pretty good deal.
Now here's the problem that Macdonald's government had not forseen, and this may well have been the one major blunder that Macdonald would make during his career. After the purchase of Rupert's Land, surveyors were send out to survey the land. When these surveyors reached the Red River settlement on October 11, 1869, they were arrested by a group of people called the Métis. Apparently, the Métis that lived at Red River were not thrilled with the notion of becoming part of Canada. The Métis (part Indian, part English/French background), were concerned that the government would not grant them any land titles.
The Métis were led by a man named Louis Riel. Riel was a fiery character and was concentrated on getting fair terms with the government. In doing so, Riel set up his own 'provisional government' at Red River, and delegates were sent to Ottawa to negotiate. By May of 1970, an agreement was reached that brought Manitoba into Confederation.
However, this new province didn't come into Canada without a hitch. During the Métis Rebellion, several of Riel's opponents were jailed in Fort Gerry. One of the prisoners in particular was a nuisance in Riel's side. This was a British man by the name of Thomas Scott, and he took every opportunity to abuse and throw insults at Riel. One day, while negotiations were taking place in Ottawa, Riel ordered to have Scott executed. Once news of Scott¹s death reached the rest of Canada, there was outrage. Many Ontario Protestants were furious because they reasoned that a man royal to Britain had been murdered by a French Catholic. The French Canadians in Quebec argued in Riel's defense.
This left Macdonald with a very difficult decision. If he arrested Riel, he would anger the French Canadian population in Quebec. If he didn't arrest him, the English speaking population in Ontario would be upset. In 1870, he sent out troops to end the Métis Rebellion, but Riel had fled to the United States, saving Macdonald from having to make the choice. However, all of this may have been avoided if Macdonald had surveyed the land before making the purchase, thus making the necessary arrangement beforehand.
In 1871, British Columbia joined Confederation on the promise of a railway to be completed between B.C. and the rest of Canada. Yet, this promise was not made by Sir John A. Macdonald, but instead by his 'right-hand man' Sir George-Etienne Cartier, who had travelled to British Columbia because Macdonald had become very ill. However, when Macdonald was re-elected in 1878, one of his main campaign promises was to complete the Canadian Pacific Railway, which was done by 1885.
One of the final things John A. Macdonald did before leaving office for the first time in 1873 was plan the Royal North West Mounted Police. Now know as the RCMP, these 'Mounties' as they have become known, played and integral part in enforcing the law in the west. Clad in their red uniforms on horseback, they have become a large part of Canada¹s heritage.
When Sir John A. Macdonald died in Ottawa on June 6, 1891, Canada lost a great leader. He possessed many of the qualities found in all great leaders, but most importantly, he helped shape Canada into the country that it is today.
© copyright 1994
steve kurash
not to be reprinted