Alexander Grant MacKay (March 7, 1860 – April 25, 1920) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

teacher, lawyer and provincial level politician. He served prominent posts in two provincial legislatures as Leader of the Opposition in Ontario and as a Cabinet Minister in Alberta.

Early life

Alexander Grant MacKay was born in Sydenham, Canada West, in

Grey County Grey County is a county in the province of Ontario. The county is located in the Southwestern Ontario region, and is a part of the Georgian Triangle. At the time of the 2021 Canadian census the population of the county was 100,905. Owen Sound is ...

on March 7, 1860, to parents Hugh MacKay and Katherine McInnis. He attended post secondary studies at the Owen Sound College and the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

obtaining a Master of Business degree. After university he became the principal of Port Rowan High School. In 1891 he joined the Ontario bar and served as a criminal lawyer until 1894, when he became Crown Attorney for Grey County. He served that role until 1912. MacKay began his political career on the municipal level with his election to the

Owen Sound Owen Sound (2021 Canadian Census, 2021 Census population 21,612) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The county seat, seat of government of Grey County, it is located at the mouths of the Pottawatomi River, Pottawatomi and Sydenham River ...

Board of Education in 1894. He served in that role until he entered Ontario provincial politics in 1902.

Ontario politics

MacKay ran and was elected to the Ontario

legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...

in 1902 in the riding of Grey North. He was re-elected in 1905, 1908 and 1911. He served in the government of

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Ross as Commissioner of Crown Lands until the government's defeat in 1905. On September 7, 1907 MacKay was elected leader of the

Ontario Liberal Party The Ontario Liberal Party (OLP; , PLO) is a political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by Bonnie Crombie since December 2023. The party espouses the principles of liberalism, with their rival the Progressive Co ...

and

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

and held that position until he resigned in September 1911. MacKay moved to Alberta in the spring of 1912, he was accused by the Toronto press of leaving Ontario because he was unable to get along with new Liberal opposition leader

Newton Rowell Newton Wesley Rowell, (November 1, 1867 – November 22, 1941) was a Canadian lawyer, politician, judge, and lay leader in the Methodist Church. Rowell led the Ontario Liberal Party from 1911 to 1917 and put forward a platform advocating ...

. MacKay officially resigned his seat in the Ontario Legislature when he ran in the

1913 Alberta general election The 1913 Alberta general election was held in March 1913. The writ was dropped on 25 March 1913 and election day was held 17 April 1913 to elect 56 members to the 3rd Alberta Legislature. Elections in two northern districts took place on 30 July ...

on April 12, 1913.

Alberta politics

MacKay ran for the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. Since 2012 the Legislative Assembly has had 87 members, elected first past the post f ...

for the first time in the

resigning his Ontario Legislature seat as soon as the writ was dropped. MacKay ran in the

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

electoral district and was defeated finishing a very close 3rd place in the block vote. After his defeat he then ran as the candidate in the deferred Athabasca election on July 30, 1913. In his second attempt at office he defeated Conservative candidate Mayor of Athabasca James Wood by a comfortable margin to win his first term in office. MacKay spent his first term in the Legislature as a back bencher for the government. MacKay stood for re-election in the

1917 Alberta general election The 1917 Alberta general election was held on 7 June 1917 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The Liberals won a fourth term in office, defeating the Conservative Party of Edward Michener. Because of World War I, eleven Me ...

. This time he was returned to his second term in a landslide victory over Conservative candidate A.F. Fugl. MacKay was appointed to the provincial cabinet on August 26, 1918. He assumed the portfolio of Minister of Municipal Affairs from Wilfrid Gariépy. He was confirmed to his portfolio in a ministerial by-election on September 27, 1918, which he won by acclamation. MacKay was given a second portfolio on June 19, 1919, when he was appointed as Alberta's first Minister of Health. He served both portfolios until he died of pneumonia (arising from the Spanish flu) in the Edmonton General Hospital April 25, 1920.

References

External links

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Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members Listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackay, Alexander Grant 1860 births 1920 deaths Ontario Liberal Party MPPs Leaders of the Ontario Liberal Party University of Toronto alumni Alberta Liberal Party MLAs Deaths from pneumonia in Alberta Members of the Executive Council of Alberta Deaths from the Spanish flu pandemic in Canada 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta