Alexander Malcolm Manson (October 7, 1883 – September 25, 1964) was a

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

judge and politician in the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. Positions he held included

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

, Minister of Labour and

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

. He was later appointed to the

Supreme Court of British Columbia Supreme may refer to: Entertainment * Supreme (character), a comic book superhero * ''Supreme'' (film), a 2016 Telugu film * Supreme (producer), hip-hop record producer * "Supreme" (song), a 2000 song by Robbie Williams * The Supremes, Motown-e ...

Biography

Alexander Malcolm Manson was born in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, Missouri on October 7, 1883. After completing a bachelor's degree at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

, Manson studied at

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The law school is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the Journal of Law and Social Policy, and the ''Osgoode Hall La ...

. In 1908, he became the first lawyer to practice in

Prince Rupert, British Columbia Prince Rupert is a port city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Its location is on Kaien Island near the Alaskan panhandle. It is the land, air, and water transportation hub of British Columbia's North Coast, and has a population of 12, ...

. He married Stella Beckwith on June 29, 1909. In the B.C. legislature, he represented the district of Omineca where he was elected in 1916, and re-elected four times in the 1920s and 1930s. He was

Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is a title commonly held by presiding officers of parliamentary bodies styled legislative assemblies. The office is most widely used in state and territorial legislatures in Australia, and in provincial and ter ...

in 1921. From April 12, 1922 to August 17, 1927, he was both Attorney General and Minister of Labour in

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 ...

's Liberal government. As Attorney General, he was criticized for his handling of the 1924 Janet Smith murder case, which would damage his political career. Nevertheless, he continued in this dual role in

John Duncan MacLean John Duncan MacLean (December 8, 1873 – March 28, 1948) was a teacher, physician, politician and the 20th premier of British Columbia, Canada. MacLean was a practicing doctor in the city of Greenwood when he was elected in the 1916 electio ...

's government from 20 August 1927 to 20 August 1928. His legislative work included interest in

liquor laws Alcohol laws are laws in relation to the manufacture, use, being under the influence of and sale of alcohol (also known formally as ethanol) or alcoholic beverages that contains ethanol. Common alcoholic beverages include beer, wine, (hard) ci ...

, narcotics laws, 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 ...

, and game conservation laws. In the mid-1920s, he also served as Grand Master of the

Grand Lodge A Grand Lodge (or Grand Orient or other similar title) is the overarching governing body of a fraternal or other similarly organized group in a given area, usually a city, state, or country. In Freemasonry A Grand Lodge or Grand Orient is the us ...

of British Columbia and Yukon. In 1935, he attempted to enter federal politics, running for the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...

in the riding of

Vancouver South Vancouver South (french: Vancouver-Sud) is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 1997, and since 2004. It covers the southern portion of the city of Va ...

, but lost by less than 300 votes to Conservative

Howard Charles Green Howard Charles Green, (November 5, 1895 – June 26, 1989) was a Canadian federal politician. Opposition career He was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1935 federal election as a Conservative from Vancouver, British Co ...

. He served on the

from 1936 until he retired in 1961. He died from cancer in Vancouver on September 25, 1964.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manson, Alexander Malcolm 1883 births 1964 deaths British Columbia Liberal Party MLAs Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia Judges in British Columbia Attorneys General of British Columbia American emigrants to Canada