Murdoch Alexander MacPherson, (April 16, 1891 – June 12, 1966) was a Canadian

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

under

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

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 ...

James T.M. Anderson from 1929 to 1932.

Early life and education

Born at MacPherson House on

Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (, formerly '; or '; ) is a rugged and irregularly shaped island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18.7% of Nova Scotia's total area. Although ...

, MacPherson attended law school at

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

in Halifax.

Military and legal career

He served in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and commanded a company of the 10th Battalion at

Battle of Vimy Ridge The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions of ...

where he came out unscathed. He was wounded by shellfire, however, at Arleux, near

Arras Arras ( , ; ; historical ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a ...

a few days later. MacPherson Avenue in

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina ( ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 Canadian census, ...

was later named in his honour, and is an official memorial of the Canadian Department of National Defence. After the war he practiced law in Saskatchewan and eventually became a

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

(Q.C.).

Political career

MacPherson was first elected to the Saskatchewan legislative assembly in 1924, and remained a member of the Legislative Assembly until his defeat in the 1934 provincial election that wiped out the Conservative Party. He was called to

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late in the term of the

R.B. Bennett Richard Bedford Bennett, 1st Viscount Bennett (July 3, 1870 – June 26, 1947) was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, philanthropist, and politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Canada from 1930 to 1935. Bennett was born in Ho ...

government to assist in creating the

Farm Credit Corporation Farm Credit Canada (FCC, ; known as Farm Credit Corporation until 2001) is a Canadian Crown corporation and agricultural term lender. This organization's purpose is to enhance rural Canada by providing specialized and personalized financial serv ...

. In 1959, he headed a Royal Commission: the MacPherson Commission. In 1938 and again in

1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...

, he was a candidate at the federal Conservative leadership conventions, coming in second place on both occasions.

Personal life

In May 1961, he received an honorary Doctor of Civil Law degree from the

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

. One of his three sons, Murdoch Alexander MacPherson Jr., known as "Sandy", born in 1916, was a pillar of the local Progressive Conservative Party and of the non-concurring First Presbyterian congregation. He served as a justice of the Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench from 1961 to 1981; during this time, he sat on the custody case of

Colin Thatcher Wilbert Colin Thatcher (born August 25, 1938) is a Canadian politician who was convicted for the murder of his ex-wife, JoAnn Wilson. Early life Colin Thatcher was born in Toronto, Ontario, on August 25, 1938. His father, Saskatchewan-born Ro ...

. M.A.'s second son, Ian, served in the Indian Army during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and after being promoted to the rank of acting Lieutenant-Colonel, was killed in action near Mawlu in

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

in April 1944. He is memorialized in

Michael Calvert Brigadier James Michael Calvert, (6 March 1913 – 26 November 1998) was a British Army officer who was involved in special operations in Burma during the Second World War. He participated in both Chindit operations and was instrumental in popul ...

's book "Prisoners of Hope." Another son, Donald K. MacPherson (always referred to and addressed as "D.K. MacPherson"), was a successful Saskatchewan labour lawyer and later Chief Justice of the Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench. D.K.'s son, Les MacPherson, is a retired columnist for the ''Saskatoon Star-Phoenix'' newspaper.

References

External links

Brief biography from MacPherson Leslie & Tyerman LLP Lawyers
- This firm is the present-day successor of the law firm that MacPherson founded in 1920 in Regina
University of Saskatchewan archives
- Information on MacPherson's honorary degree
Notice on MacPherson Avenue, Regina, Saskatchewan
- From Canadian Dept. of National Defence, Department of History and Heritage {{DEFAULTSORT:Macpherson, Murdoch 1891 births 1966 deaths Attorneys general of Saskatchewan Schulich School of Law alumni Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan MLAs Canadian King's Counsel Progressive Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidates 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan