Sir John A. Macdonald

Sir John A. MacDonald John A. MacDonald was the first Prime Minister of Canada and he was truly a founding father. I chose John A. MacDonald because he was an important man without him, Canada would not have been as it is today and because of him, Canada has more land and a higher population. He made the Red River Settlement (the Metis’ land) become the province of Manitoba. He purchased Rupert’s Land from the Hudson’s bay Company. That land became the Northwest Territories. Throughout the 1860’s MacDonald worked to build up Confederation. In 1866, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and the province of Canada decided to confederate. Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island didn’t want to yet. The British parliament added British Columbia to Confederation in1871, making it the sixth province. MacDonald had to convince them to join by promising to build a transcontinental railway. He created Canada’s first national park in Banff, Alberta in 1885. He built a nation including Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and British Columbia. In doing so, he opened the West for settlement. He encouraged people in the United States, Britain, and other people in Europe to settle in Canada. Because of what MacDonald did, now Canada has more land and a higher population. As a prime minister, one of his goals was to enlarge the country and make it united. He talked with Metis and agreed to their demands. He also built a transcontinental railway that joined the West and the East. It was named the Canadian Pacific Railway. He also accepted the National Policy to Canada’s population and industrial growth. MacDonald was probably the most important Father of Confederation. He was the person who was able to bridge the gap between the English and French Canadian and balanced their interests so they could live peacefully together. MacDonald also protected tariffs for the Canadian business. He