John A. Macdonald

Over history, numerous figures have been claimed to be the real Architect of Canadian Confederation. This article will explore the rationale behind the selection of Sir John A Macdonald, the first Prime Minister, as this role. Macdonald’s national appeal, political skill and ability to bring together various conflicting interests elevate him above all other contenders to become the true architect of Canadian Confederation. The argument will consist of three major parts: first, John A Macdonald’s achievements will be explored at length; second, two broad requirements that the real architect must fulfil are analysed; third, three of the final four candidates will be eliminated to show how Macdonald is worthy of this title. John Macdonald’s achievements…

Several times in history, there have been leaders whose actions were criticized by their citizens, but sometimes those actions can end up benefiting the country. On July 1st, 1867, Sir John Alexander Macdonald was elected into the Canadian Government as the first Prime Minister and three years later he purchased Rupert’s Land, which includes settlement of many First Nations including the Metis at Red River. When Macdonald tried to expand westward, the Metis and their leader, Louis Riel, tried to…

Introduction The two men that I will be comparing today are Louis Riel and John A. Macdonald. Both of these men have contributed many things that have shaped our country that we see today, and are arguably two of the most important figures in Canada's history. Louis Riel was a Métis man who was born on October 22, 1844, on the Red River Settlement in Saint-Boniface. Riel was fluent in both English and French. During his lifetime, Riel achieved many great successes and inspired many people.…

The railway network expands from Vancouver in the west to Montreal in the east and has railways across the border to Minneapolis, Chicago, New York City and other cities. Speaking of Canadian Pacific Railway, its history and meaning are important. The reason of build such a railway is to unify a new country and its completion was an important tool to eliminate aggression from the United State and maintain national security. It also bears the dream of governing the country and political ideas of…

less than his English counterpart Sir John A. Macdonald. Noted by historian Cecelia Morgan, Macdonald’s statue in Montreal was erected 4 years after his death, while the memorialization of Cartier in the city which he resided in took 39 years. Cartier’s inexplicable belittlement caused by the delay in the creation of his statue can only be caused by Anglocentrism. Eventually erected in 1912, Cartier’s humble statue Parc du Mont-Royal came too late, as the central placement of the glorified…

MacDonald had big dreams for all of Canada. His dream consisted of a transcontinental British nation in North America. The issue with this dream is that it’s excessively costly. Over $100,000,000 would have to be invested into the railway, keeping in mind that Canada consisted of only 3.5 million people and wages were as low as $1 per day. (pg.8, National Dream) The formation of the Canadian Pacific Railway was an extraordinary idea of how to stitch the scattered provinces and empty territories…

The immigration policy causes and consequences In Canada during the year of 1879, Our first prime minister Sir John A Macdonald introduced the National Policy. The national policy came in three separate parts. Imposing the Protective tariffs, Building the transcontinental railway and the strict Immigration policy. The Purpose of the Policy was to shape Canada into a strong true country that did not have to rely on the U.S. Although all three steps of the National policy had an impact on canada…

John MacDonald was the son of Alexander MacDonald of Genaladal and Margaret MacDonald of Scotland; John had three siblings Donald, a younger brother, and sisters Helen and Peggy. John, his brother and sisters went to St. John’s Island in May of 1772 aboard the Alexander bringing with them 210 settlers. Things would get harder for the MacDonald’s, John and Donald went off to war leaving Helen in charge of their estate. The situation on St. John’s Island would only become worse with proprietors…

rebellions. It all started when Rupert’s Land was bought by Canada, and the rights of the Métis were uncertain. This was when Riel made it a point to guarantee them for his people. After the uprising, Riel’s motivations finally came to effect and the Métis’ rights were established. Soon after, he went into voluntary exile. It came to everyone’s attention that Riel was a bit unbalanced, yet despite this he still led a successful rebellion for the rights of his people. After the Red River…

David Lei Ms. Patterson Sir John A. Macdonald: Triumphs and Failures Thursday, May 10, 2018 Grade 10 History CHC2D1-07 It is said that “history is the record of an encounter between character and circumstance” (Donald Creighton). Canada’s first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald was extremely knowledgeable and charismatic, remembered as one of the most transcendent leaders in Canadian History. Macdonald’s ability to resolve severe circumstances with great political success was…