Alexander Duncan McRae, (November 17, 1874 – June 26, 1946) was a successful businessman, a
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
in the
Canadian Army
The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...
in
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, a
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
, a
Canadian Senator
The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The Senate is modelled after the Bri ...
and a farmer.
Origins
Alexander Duncan McRae was born and raised on a farm in Ekfrid Township,
Middlesex County, Ontario
Middlesex County (2016 population 71,551)Sum of the eight municipalities in Middlesex County from is a primarily rural county in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Landlocked, the county is bordered by Huron and Perth counties on the north, Oxford Co ...
. His father was Duncan Alexander McRae and his mother was Mary (Mahwhinney) McRae. His cousin and longtime business partner, Andrew Davidson (b. May 18, 1853) came from the same area. The two of them each went on to study at a Business school in
Chatham, Ontario.
Early career
In search of opportunities, at age 18 he went to work for his cousins, the brothers Alexander and Andrew Davidson of
Duluth, Minnesota
, settlement_type = City
, nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City
, motto =
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...
. The Davidsons had started in
Little Falls, Minnesota
Little Falls is a city in Morrison County, Minnesota, United States, near the geographic center of the state. Established in 1848, Little Falls is one of the oldest European-American cities in Minnesota. It is the county seat of Morrison County. ...
, working for a railway company and moved into banking. Andrew had become mayor and they were involved in the business of buying, marketing and financing railway land to homesteaders. Minnesota made Andrew an honorary colonel. Their banking business spread through the region. In 1892, at 18 Alexander McRae joined them in Duluth and learned under Andrew.
McRae's first business venture on his own account started when his father put up $1,500 and McRae became a partner with the Davidsons in a company that insured
grain elevator
A grain elevator is a facility designed to stockpile or store grain. In the grain trade, the term "grain elevator" also describes a tower containing a bucket elevator or a pneumatic conveyor, which scoops up grain from a lower level and deposits ...
s. The Davidson-McRae company sold fire and liability insurance and surety bonds. By the 1890s they had invested in various businesses and McRae became vice president of First National Bank of Hibbing. By age 25 he had $50,000 of his own earnings accumulated. He invested in other businesses including a granite quarry.
He married Blaunche Latimer Howe, of Pennsylvania who was the daughter of wealthy a forest industry father. They married in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
on February 23, 1900. They would eventually have three daughters, Blanche, Lucile, and Margaret ("Peggy").
As McRae and the Davidsons saw Minnesota land go up in price and farmers moving west for more land, they realized the
Canadian prairies
The Canadian Prairies (usually referred to as simply the Prairies in Canada) is a region in Western Canada. It includes the Canadian portion of the Great Plains and the Prairie Provinces, namely Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These provin ...
were an opportunity. They formed the Saskatchewan Valley Land Company headquartered in Winnipeg.
Land Speculation in Saskatchewan
Land in Saskatchewan between
Regina and
Saskatoon
Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...
had been surveyed in 1882. Railway companies were compensated with land grants for the cost of railway construction. The railway companies rejected much of the land between Regina and Saskatoon as unfit for settlement and court proceedings began. McRae and the Davidsons thought otherwise. In 1902 they bought land surrendered by the
Cree
The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...
and
Assiniboine
The Assiniboine or Assiniboin people ( when singular, Assiniboines / Assiniboins when plural; Ojibwe: ''Asiniibwaan'', "stone Sioux"; also in plural Assiniboine or Assiniboin), also known as the Hohe and known by the endonym Nakota (or Nakoda ...
people under
Treaty 4
Treaty 4 is a treaty established between Queen Victoria and the Cree and Saulteaux First Nation band governments. The area covered by Treaty 4 represents most of current day southern Saskatchewan, plus small portions of what are today western Ma ...
, which the government had assigned to the Qu'Appelle, Long Lake and Saskatchewan Railway. Their first purchases were for $1.53 an acre and a further 250,000 acres of Treaty 4 land from the federal government for $1 per acre.
They bought a further from the Saskatchewan Western Railway. They agreed to terms that required them to actively seek settlers for the land. They were also appointed land agents for the
Great Northern Railway owned by
Donald Mann
Sir Donald Daniel Mann (March 23, 1853 – November 10, 1934), who was also referred to as "Dan" or "D.D." before his knighthood, was a Canadian railway contractor and entrepreneur.
Biography
Born at Acton, Canada West, Mann studied as a Metho ...
and
William Mackenzie in 1902. By the time they were done these and other purchases, their syndicate and the various companies it consisted of owned about of land which they sold between $2.25 and $12 per acre netting about $9 million.
[
In the summer of 1902, Davidson and McRae organized two promotional train tours from Minneapolis through to Prince Albert. Each of these journeys saw eight Pullman cars plus dining and baggage cars traveling through hundreds of miles of unbroken and uninhabited prairie lands. The passengers were wealthy investors from the United States. The promotion was a success. Large tracts were purchased and word spread in the business communities leading to further investment. The company developed a network of land agents to sell land to settlers which advertised and maintained sales offices in many locations. In 1901 the population of the North West Territories (which then included ]Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
and most of Manitoba
Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
) was 158,940. In five years it had grown to 443,175. Under their colonization scheme 50,000 people settled in Saskatchewan.
The purchases of railway reserves required approval of the government. Those approvals and the purchases from the government were negotiated secretly with the Minister of the Interior, Clifford Sifton
Sir Clifford Sifton, (March 10, 1861 – April 17, 1929), was a Canadian lawyer and a long-time Liberal politician, best known for being Minister of the Interior under Sir Wilfrid Laurier. He was responsible for encouraging the massive amount o ...
. A raging controversy arose in the House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
but the opposition was unable to make much of it even though McRae and his colleagues made a staggering profit in the transactions because the land had stood empty for years (the railway companies didn't want it), the government had insisted on terms that required the settlement of these vacant lands and overall the effort succeeded in rapidly filling vast areas of vacant land with settlers at a time when there was concern about American expansion into the territory.
Business career in British Columbia
When McRae arrived to live in Vancouver in 1907, he came intending to involve himself in business ventures as an active investor. Even before arriving to live on the west coast, he had invested in Canadian North Pacific Fisheries. In its first year, it made a half million dollars. In its second year the business failed. He moved on to invest in Wallace Fisheries and became its president.
He knew from his business ventures in the prairies that there was a shortage of lumber there for building. Working with his partner, Davidson, Senator Peter Jansen of Nebraska, the Swift Brothers (meat packing), William Mackenzie and Donald Mann
Sir Donald Daniel Mann (March 23, 1853 – November 10, 1934), who was also referred to as "Dan" or "D.D." before his knighthood, was a Canadian railway contractor and entrepreneur.
Biography
Born at Acton, Canada West, Mann studied as a Metho ...
, he took over a sawmill and a company town
A company town is a place where practically all stores and housing are owned by the one company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schools, markets and re ...
upstream from New Westminster at a place called Millside at Fraser Mills (now part of Coquitlam
Coquitlam ( ) is a city in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly suburban, Coquitlam is the List of cities in British Columbia, sixth-largest city in the province, with a population of 148,625 in 2021, and one of the 21 municipa ...
). Once he persuaded the government to dredge the Fraser River to permit reliable passage of oceangoing freighters to the mill, he reorganized it as Fraser River Mills (after 1910 known as the Canadian Western Lumber Company) with several large investors and a capitalization of $20 million. The plant and its yards covered and took 1,030 men to run. With an investment of $500,000 in new equipment and the acquisition or formation of related companies such as The Canadian Tugboat Company and the Comox Logging and Railway to transport timber from the of timber the company controlled between Comox and Campbell River on Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...
, the company became the largest lumber and wood manufacturing company in the world. The normal capacity of the mill was of lumber a day. In 1912 the mill produced of lumber, enough to fill 42 rail cars a day. The mill ran around the clock. In the years after McRae's involvement, it eventually, in 1954, was acquired by Crown Zellerbach, and, with further acquisitions became Fletcher Challenge
Fletcher Challenge was a multinational corporation from New Zealand. It was formed in 1981 by the merger of Fletcher Holdings, Challenge Corporation and Tasman Pulp and Paper. It had holdings in construction, forestry, building, and energy, init ...
Canada Limited in 1987. By 1911 he had purchased canneries on Princess Royal Island
Princess Royal Island is the largest island on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is located amongst the isolated inlets and islands east of Hecate Strait on the British Columbia Coast. At , it is the fourth largest island in British ...
, at Rivers Inlet
Rivers Inlet is a fjord in the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, its entrance off Fitz Hugh Sound, about southwest of the community of Bella Coola and about north of the northern tip of Vancouver Island and the ...
and at Smith's Inlet. He introduced mechanized canning to the fish packing industry.
By 1914, when World War I began, McRae was also president of Anacortes Lumber and Box Company, vice-president of Columbia River Lumber Company Ltd of Golden BC which became a subsidiary of Canadian Western, vice-president of Canadian Collieries (Dunsmuir) Ltd. of Victoria BC and president of Wallace Fisheries.
Military service
In 1912, as a recruit of Major General Sir Sam Hughes, McRae volunteered with the as an honorary lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
. When World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
broke out, McRae went to Europe where his first responsibility was the purchase of horses for the army. He reorganized the Remount Commission and was responsible for the purchase of 8,000 horses. He took over a department known for corruption and dysfunction and has been credited for turning it into a business like organization. Rumours led nevertheless to charges about the conduct of these acquisitions resulting in a royal commission under Quebec Chief Justice Sir Charles Peers Davidson. The commission cleared McRae of wrongdoing and commended him for his performance.
He carried on as director of supplies and services and, when Hughes fell into disfavour in 1916, McRae continued to advance. He was promoted the rank of Major General and in 1917, was made a member of the Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...
. Later in the war effort, he was seconded to the British Government to organize Ministry of Information assisting Britain's Minister of Information, Lord Beaverbrook
William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook (25 May 1879 – 9 June 1964), generally known as Lord Beaverbrook, was a Canadian-British newspaper publisher and backstage politician who was an influential figure in British media and politics o ...
. For his services, it has been said that the British crown offered McRae knighthood, which he declined, although McRae himself never confirmed or denied that this happened.
He left the army in 1918 two months after the end of the war. Afterwards he had little involvement in the military although, in 1934, addressing the Senate, he predicted correctly that another war would erupt in Europe after touring Europe and interviewing various prominent men in France, Germany and Austria. In World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
his involvement was limited to helping raise financial support for the Canadian Legion
The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit Canadian ex-service organization (veterans' organization) founded in 1925. Membership includes people who have served as military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial and municipal police, Royal ...
and the YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...
. In his later careers he was sometimes an advocate for returned veterans and in 1942 he donated his Vancouver mansion to the federal government for use as a hospital for wounded veterans.
Hycroft
After McRae settled in Vancouver in 1907 he proceeded to build a mansion for his family, to become known as Hycroft, in Shaughnessy one of Vancouver's neighborhoods. The home was built on the brow of a hill on of land. The land upon which the 30 room, 3 story mansion was built cost $10,000. The construction, completed in 1911, cost $100,000. The house was designed by Vancouver architect Thomas Hooper. After the death of his wife Blaunche in 1942, McRae donated Hycroft to the government of Canada to be used as a hospital for wounded veterans. Once converted, it housed 130 beds. Since 1962 Hycroft has been the home of the University Woman's Club of Vancouver [
] and is home in that capacity to the club, founded in 1907 to promote education and human rights for women. The Club promotes education and opportunities for women and members enjoy sharing ideas, interests, and fun at its Clubhouse, Hycroft. Hycroft is available for member use, member events, and rentals. The French Olympic Team used the building during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. It is also heavily used by Vancouver's film and television production industry as a set.
Political career
British Columbia Provincial Party
In 1923 McRae organized a group of British Columbia Conservative Party
The Conservative Party of British Columbia is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. In the early half of the 20th century, the Conservatives competed with the British Columbia Liberal Party for power in the province. Since th ...
dissidents he called the Committee of 100 which became the Provincial Party of British Columbia
Provincial may refer to:
Government & Administration
* Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country
* Provincial city (disambiguation)
* Provincial minister (disambiguation)
* Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...
. The party sought freight rate equalization, cooperation with the federal government in the development of a northern railway, the elimination of Oriental labour, abolition of patronage, hiring of veterans and the elimination of income tax which had been introduced as a temporary measure during the war.
The party nominated candidates in only one provincial election: the 1924 election. In that election, McRae claimed the Liberal government of John Oliver
John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British-American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. Oliver started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom. He came to wider attention ...
and the previous administration of Conservative Premier William John Bowser
William John Bowser (Rexton, New Brunswick December 3, 1867 – October 25, 1933 Vancouver) was a politician in British Columbia, Canada. He served as the 17th premier of British Columbia from 1915 to 1916.
The son of William Bowser and Marga ...
, then the opposition leader, were corrupt. Many of his allegations were related to the funding of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
plan to reach Prince George in the Northern interior of the province which was not achieved until many years later. He claimed that there were kickbacks, patronage and various wrongdoings. His allegations were never proven. He offered to pay for an independent audit of the books of the railway. His offer was declined.
Although the party achieved 24% of the popular vote in the 1924 election and took 3 seats, McRae was not elected. Both Bowser and Oliver lost their seats but Oliver continued to lead his conservative party as Premier of a minority government after the election.
McRae reconciled with his former Conservative allies after the election and went on to federal politics. The Provincial Party disappeared.
Federal politics
McRae ran federally for the Conservatives
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
winning a seat in Parliament the 1926 election representing the Vancouver North
Vancouver North was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1925 to 1949.
This riding was created in 1924 from parts of Burrard and Comox—Alberni ridings.
A redi ...
district. He organized the first modern leadership convention of the Conservative party in 1927. At the same time, he organized the bid of R.B. Bennett for the leadership. He went on to run Bennett's campaign in the 1930 election leading to his election as the 11th Prime Minister of Canada
The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Hou ...
however McRae was defeated in his own constituency in that election. After a few months, Bennett appointed McRae to the Senate where he served until his death, at age 71 in 1946. He was active with his duties in the Senate until immediately before his last, brief, illness. He was interred at Ocean View Memorial Park in Burnaby, British Columbia
Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard Inl ...
.
Post-war business career
During his Senate years, he became involved in various business ventures. He was involved in Texas-Canada Oil Company and Pioneer Gold Mine in BC. He was involved in mining in Alaska including the Yukon Charlie mine.
Eaglecrest Lodge
In the early 1930s McRae purchased 260 acres (1.1 km2) of ocean front bluff land in Qualicum Beach :''"Qualicum" re-directs here. For the neighbourhood in Ottawa, see Qualicum, Ottawa''
Qualicum Beach () is a town located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. In the 2021 census, it had a population of 9,303. It is situated at the fo ...
on Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...
. In 1934 he built a country home, constructed of logs, long and wide. The property and its development were significant relief for the local population in the depressed economy of the 1930s. The home, which Princess (later Queen) Elizabeth and her husband stayed at for a private visit in 1951 during their honeymoon during subsequent ownership, burned to the ground in 1969. McRae also took up farming with the purchase of 2,000 acres (8 km2) of land near Qualicum Beach. He employed about a hundred men in its operation for the 13 or 14 years that he owned it. He bred sheep and cattle.
Sources
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References
External links
*
Vancouver History: Hycroft Manor
By Rebecca Bollwitt
{{DEFAULTSORT:McRae, Alexander Duncan
1874 births
1946 deaths
Businesspeople from Ontario
Canadian senators from British Columbia
Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) senators
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia
Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs
Canadian Companions of the Order of the Bath
People from Middlesex County, Ontario
Politicians from Vancouver
British Columbia Conservative Party politicians
Canadian generals of World War I
Canadian military personnel from British Columbia
Canadian military personnel from Ontario