John Walter McDonald (May 21, 1878 – November 8, 1950) was a Canadian lawyer, judge and provincial politician from
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 ...
. He served as Mayor of
Fort Macleod, Alberta
Fort Macleod ( ) is a town in southern Alberta, Canada. It was originally named Macleod to distinguish it from the North-West Mounted Police barracks (Fort Macleod, built 1874) it had grown around. The fort was named in honour of the then Commi ...
, Chief Judge of the District Court of Southern Alberta, and also led 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 ...
for a brief period from 1930 to 1932.
Early life
John W. McDonald was born in
Vaughan
Vaughan () (2021 population 323,103) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increas ...
,
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 Ca ...
.
He took his post secondary education 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 ...
graduated with a
Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
and
Bachelor of Civil Law
Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviated BCL, or B.C.L.; la, Baccalaureus Civilis Legis) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Camb ...
in 1905 and became a lawyer.
McDonald married his wife Margaret in 1907.
McDonald practiced in Toronto with the firm of Denton, Dunn and Boultbee, until he moved west, passed the Alberta Bar in 1907 and established became legal partners with
Malcolm McKenzie
Malcolm McKenzie (May 31, 1863 – March 15, 1913) was a Canadian politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and, briefly, as Alberta Provincial Treasurer.
Early life
Malcolm McKenzie was born in Kincardine, On ...
at the firm of McDonald, Martin and McKenzie.
McDonald was appointed
King's Counsel
In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...
in 1919 and became Crown Prosecutor for the Judicial District of Macleod.
As a Crown Prosecutor he received recognition for two infamous murder trials of ''R v. Basoff (1920)'' where Tom Bassoff was convicted of murdering
Alberta Provincial Police
The Alberta Provincial Police (APP) was the provincial police service for the province of Alberta, Canada from 1917 to 1932. The APP was formed as a result of the Royal North-West Mounted Police (RNWMP) leaving the prairie provinces during the Fi ...
Constable Fred W.E. Bailey and
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...
Corporal Usher in a shootout in
Bellevue, Alberta
Bellevue is an urban community in the Rocky Mountains within the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass in southwest Alberta, Canada. It was formerly incorporated as a village prior to 1979 when it amalgamated with four other municipalities to form Crow ...
, and ''R. v. Zitto (1923)''.
Political career
McDonald ran for Mayor of Fort Macleod in 1923, holding the position until 1930, and again from 1934 to 1938.
While in Fort Macleod he also served as a member of the local school board, several community organizations, and was an honorary Chief of the
Blood Tribe
The Kainai Nation (or , or Blood Tribe) ( bla, Káínaa) is a First Nations band government in southern Alberta, Canada, with a population of 12,800 members in 2015, up from 11,791 in December 2013.
translates directly to 'many chief' (fro ...
.
McDonald ran for a seat to the Alberta Legislature in the
1926 Alberta general election
The 1926 Alberta general election was held on June 28, 1926, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The United Farmers of Alberta government that had first been elected in 1921 was re-elected, taking a majority of the seats in t ...
as a
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
candidate in the electoral district of
Macleod
MacLeod, McLeod and Macleod ( ) which cited: are surnames in the English language.
Generally, the names are considered to be Anglicised forms of the Scottish Gaelic ', meaning "son of '".
One of the earliest occurrences of the surname is of Gi ...
. He faced
United Farmers incumbent MLA
William Shield
William Shield (5 March 1748 – 25 January 1829) was an English composer, violinist and viola, violist. His music earned the respect of Haydn and Beethoven.
Life and musical career
Shield was born in Swalwell near Gateshead, County Durham, th ...
in a hotly contested race. The race went to a second vote count with Shield hanging on by just over 100 votes.
McDonald ran for leader of the Alberta Liberal Party after Joseph Shaw resigned. He was elected in a hotly contested race at a convention held on March 28, 1930. He won the leadership on the third ballot against
Hugh John Montgomery
Hugh John Montgomery (July 31, 1876 – August 30, 1956) was a politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a politician on the municipal and provincial levels of government in Alberta. He served on the city council of Wetaskiwin in various pos ...
and
William Howson.
The
1930 Alberta general election
Year 193 ( CXCIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sosius and Ericius (or, less frequently, year 946 ''Ab urbe condit ...
was held three months later. McDonald led the Liberals to four seat gain over the last election despite losing almost 2% of their popular vote. In his constituency McDonald was badly defeated having run for the second time against Shield in a two-way race.
After the election McDonald remained leader of the party, the question of his leadership became a turbulent one as Liberals wondered who would represent them at the opening of the house. Rumors began swirling in the aftermath about a parliamentary coalition being formed with the Conservatives which both parties flatly denied.
McDonald tried to find a seat, the nearest Liberal MLA
Harvey Bossenberry
Harvey Bossenberry (December 15, 1880 – June 19, 1951) was a provincial politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1930 to 1935 sitting with the Liberal caucus in opposition.
Early life
H ...
representing
Pincher Creek
Pincher Creek is a town in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located immediately east of the Canadian Rockies, west of Lethbridge and south of Calgary.
History
For centuries before European settlers reached this area and inhabited it, Indigen ...
flatly denied he would resign to provide a by-election for McDonald.
The Alberta Liberals held their annual convention on November 29, 1930. The sixty delegates in attendance gave confidence to McDonald's party leadership on the condition that he must seek election at the first opportunity.
The leadership question of the Assembly was fixed when the Liberal caucus chose
George Webster as House Leader. McDonald continued on as Leader for another year before tendering his resignation on March 1, 1932.
Later life
McDonald was appointed as a Judge for the District Court of Southern Alberta on May 24, 1940, and was subsequently appointed Chief Judge on March 18, 1944. He served in this role until his death in
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
on November 8, 1950.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, John
Leaders of the Alberta Liberal Party
Mayors of places in Alberta
University of Toronto alumni
Alberta Liberal Party candidates in Alberta provincial elections
1878 births
1950 deaths
Judges in Alberta
People from Vaughan