Alexander Barrett Macdonald (21 October 1918 – 5 March 2014) was a Canadian politician who served for several years in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia and briefly in the House of Commons of Canada. He was a barrister and solicitor by career. The son of

Malcolm Archibald Macdonald Malcolm Archibald Macdonald (June 20, 1875 – October 13, 1941) was a Canadian lawyer, politician and Chief Justice of British Columbia. Biography Malcolm Archibald Macdonald was born in Ashfield Township on June 20, 1875. He graduated from ...

, Macdonald was educated at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thre ...

and

Osgoode Hall Osgoode Hall is a landmark building in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The original -storey building was started in 1829 and finished in 1832 from a design by John Ewart and William Warren Baldwin. The structure is named for William Osgood ...

. He worked with the Department of Munitions and Supplies in Ottawa during

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 opposing ...

. During that time, he married Dorothy Ann Lewis. After the war, he served as secretary for M. J. Coldwell and then practised law in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

for a short time. In 1948, he opened his own practice in Vancouver. He was elected to the Canadian Parliament in the riding of

Vancouver Kingsway Vancouver Kingsway is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1953 to 1988 and since 1997. It is located in Vancouver. Demographics This riding's population is ...

in the 1957 general election as a member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. In the following year, he was defeated by John Ferguson Browne of the Progressive Conservative party in the 1958 election. He was first elected to the B.C. legislature in the 1960 general election as the member for

Vancouver East Vancouver East (french: Vancouver-Est) is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1935. It is currently represented by New Democratic Party MP Jenny Kwan. The ...

, and held this seat until his retirement in 1986. In 1972 he became

Attorney General of British Columbia The attorney general of British Columbia (AG) oversees the Ministry of Attorney General, a provincial government department responsible for the oversight of the justice system, within the province of British Columbia, Canada. The attorney general ...

in the New Democratic Party government led by

Dave Barrett David Barrett (October 2, 1930 – February 2, 2018) was a politician and social worker in British Columbia, Canada. He was the 26th premier of British Columbia from 1972 to 1975. Early life and career Barrett was born in Vancouver, Britis ...

and held this position until the NDP's defeat in the 1975 general election. He wrote three books on politics and law: ''My Dear Legs'' (), ''Alex in Wonderland'' (), and ''Outrage: Canada's Justice System on Trial'' (). His wife of 64 years died in 2009. He died at the age of 95 on 5 March 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, Alexander Barrett 1918 births 2014 deaths Attorneys General of British Columbia British Columbia Co-operative Commonwealth Federation MLAs British Columbia New Democratic Party MLAs Canadian people of Scottish descent Co-operative Commonwealth Federation MPs Lawyers in British Columbia Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia Osgoode Hall Law School alumni Peter A. Allard School of Law alumni Politicians from Vancouver Simon Fraser University faculty Writers from Vancouver 20th-century Canadian politicians 20th-century Canadian writers 20th-century Canadian male writers