Donald Alexander Macdonald
Donald Alexander Macdonald, PC ( born February 17, 1817 in St. Raphael's, Ontario, † June 10, 1896 in Montreal ) was a Canadian politician and businessman. From 1867 to 1875 he was a liberal member of the House of Commons, in 1873, he belonged to the Postmaster General of the Federal Government. From 1875 to 1880 he served as Vice- Governor of the Province of Ontario.
Biography
After finishing school Macdonald worked as a building contractor. Among other things he was involved in the construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal. In Glengarry County, he built an industrial complex consisting of flour mill, sawmill, warehouse, fulling mill and Kalisalzverarbeitung. His political career began in 1857 with the election into the House of the Province of Canada. 1861 and 1863 he succeeded each re-election. Energetic Macdonald sat for religiously mixed schools. He stepped on to the general election in 1867 and won the electoral district of Glengarry. As a member of the Liberal Party, he was first in opposition.
After the mid-1850s built a section of the Grand Trunk Railway, Macdonald in 1871 founded his own railroad company, the Montreal and City of Ottawa Junction Railway. Because of the crash of 1873 the founder of distances in the direction of Ottawa did not come first; for a bridge over the Saint Lawrence River, which should connect to Vermont, the money was missing. It was only after the company had opened in 1879 in the Canada Atlantic Railway, construction began. Macdonald remained until 1881 chairman of the board of that company.
In November 1873, the Liberals took over at the federal level, the government responsibility. Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie Macdonald appointed as Postmaster General in his cabinet. To give Edward Blake made a minister, Macdonald was forced to resign and a half years later. As compensation, Governor General Lord Dufferin sworn him on 18 May 1875 as Vice- Governor of the Province of Ontario. This representative office exercised from Macdonald to 30 June 1880. At the general election in 1882 he ran again, but was not elected.
His older brother John Sandfield Macdonald was the lower house deputy and first Prime Minister of the Province of Ontario, his younger brother Alexander Francis Macdonald was a member of the House of Commons.