John Allen McPherson (December 28, 1855 – December 26, 1944) was a Canadian provincial level politician in

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 ...

Early life

John Allen McPherson was born December 28, 1855, at Mount Pleasant, Ontario to Donald and Catharine McPherson of Scottish descent. McPherson moved west in the spring of 1878, spending three years in

Kenora Kenora (), previously named Rat Portage (french: Portage-aux-Rats), is a city situated on the Lake of the Woods in Ontario, Canada, close to the Manitoba boundary, and about east of Winnipeg by road. It is the seat of Kenora District. The his ...

working on the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

He traveled to

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

in May 1881 via 105 day ox and cart journey and quickly moved to his selected homestead where he began farming and livestock breeding. He married Christina Hodel on April 22, 1894, had six children together. McPherson was the director of the Edmonton Exhibition Association from 1901, a town councillor in 1905, school board trustee from 1895, postmaster for Spruce Grove and Justice of the Peace.

Political career

John was first elected as an original member of the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from singl ...

for the electoral district of Stony Plain in the

1905 Alberta general election The 1905 Alberta general election was the first general election held in the Province of Alberta, Canada on November 9, 1905, to elect twenty-five members of the Alberta legislature to the 1st Alberta Legislative Assembly, shortly after the provi ...

for the

Alberta Liberal Party The Alberta Liberal Party (french: Parti libéral de l'Alberta) is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1905, it is the oldest active political party in Alberta and was the dominant political party until the 1921 election ...

defeating Dan Bronx of the Conservatives and future Conservative MLA Conrad Weidenhammer who ran as an Independent. He served the Alberta Liberal Party as a back bencher. John would win a second term to office in Stony Plain in the

1909 Alberta general election The 1909 Alberta general election was the second general election held in the Province of Alberta, Canada on March 22, 1909, to elect 41 members of the Alberta legislature to the 2nd Alberta Legislature. The incumbent Liberal Party led by Premi ...

in another hotly contested election against 3 other opponents. In the

1913 Alberta general election The 1913 Alberta general election was held in March 1913. The writ was dropped on 25 March 1913 and election day was held 17 April 1913 to elect 56 members to the 3rd Alberta Legislature. Elections in two northern districts took place on 30 July ...

he would be defeated and retired from politics after being handily defeated by

Conservative 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 i ...

Conrad Weidenhammer.

References

External links

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Alberta Legislative Assembly Members Listing
Alberta Liberal Party MLAs 1944 deaths 1855 births Farmers from Alberta Canadian postmasters People from the County of Brant {{Alberta-politician-stub