Hugh John Macdonald

Hugh John Macdonald

Sir Hugh John Macdonald , PC , QC (born March 13, 1850 in Kingston , Upper Canada , † March 29, 1929 in Winnipeg ) was a Canadian politician . The son of the first Canadian Prime Minister John Macdonald was a member of the House of Commons from 1891 to 1893 and from 1896 to 1897 . In 1896, he was Minister of the Interior in Charles Tupper's federal cabinet for a little over two months . Four years later, he served as head of government in Manitoba Province for a few months .

biography

Macdonald and Charles Tupper, 1900

Hugh John Macdonald was born in Kingston to John Macdonald (then Attorney General of Upper Canada) and his wife Isabella Clark. His mother died when he was seven years old, after which he grew up mostly with his aunt. After studying at the University of Toronto , he graduated in 1869 with a Bachelor of Arts , followed by a law degree . He was admitted to the bar in 1872 and practiced mainly in Toronto as his father's partner.

Macdonald served in The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada militia regiment . Among other things, he took part in the Red River Rebellion of Garnet Wolseley in 1870 , with which the rebellion led by Louis Riel should be put down. He was actively involved in the non-violent capture of Fort Garry . He then returned to Toronto. After the death of his first wife, Macdonald moved to Manitoba Province and settled in Winnipeg , where he ran his own law firm. In 1883 he married a second time. He served as a lieutenant during the Northwest Rebellion in 1885 and participated in the Battle of Fish Creek .

In the general election of 1891 Macdonald ran for the Conservative Party and was elected MP from Winnipeg. In contrast to his father, who died shortly afterwards, he was shy of publicity and did not particularly like politics. In May 1893 he resigned. Three years later, Prime Minister Charles Tupper (the father of his law firm partner) was able to persuade him to take up a ministerial post in the federal cabinet. Macdonald served as Home Secretary and Superintendent General for Indian Affairs from May 1, 1896. Although he narrowly prevailed against Joseph Martin in the general election in 1896 , the Conservatives lost their majority and his term as minister ended on July 8th.

Due to a formal protest, Macdonald's election result was canceled at the beginning of 1897 and he no longer ran for the by-election that had become necessary . In March 1897 he took over the chairmanship of the Conservative Party of Manitoba . In December 1899 he led the party to a narrow victory in the election for the Manitoba Legislative Assembly ; he himself prevailed by 60 votes in the constituency of Winnipeg South. On January 10, 1900, Macdonald took office as Prime Minister of Manitoba. He brought a prohibition law through parliament, but on October 29, 1900 he resigned to run against the liberal Interior Minister Clifford Sifton in the 1900 general election.

The tactics devised by the conservative federal party failed because Macdonald was clearly defeated. He then withdrew from politics and dedicated himself to his law firm. The provincial government appointed him in 1911 as Winnipeg Police Magistrate. Two years later he was a member of a commission that investigated and confirmed allegations of corruption against Manitoba's head of government, Rodmond Roblin . In 1919 he had the Winnipeg general strike broken up by force on the orders of the federal government .

Macdonal's last home in Winnipeg, called Dalnavert , is now a museum and the seat of the Manitoba Historical Society .

Web links

Commons : Hugh John Macdonald  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Hugh John Macdonald . In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography . 24 volumes, 1966–2018. University of Toronto Press, Toronto ( English , French ).
• Biography on the Manitoba Historical Society website
• Hugh John Macdonald - biographical information on the website of the Canadian Parliament (English)