Thomas McKay (July 4, 1849 – September 25, 1924) was a Metis farmer and political figureCanadian Parliamentary Guide, 1903'', AJ Magurn'' in

Saskatchewan, Canada 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 ...

. He was the first mayor of

Prince Albert, Saskatchewan Prince Albert is the third-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada, after Saskatoon and Regina. It is situated near the centre of the province on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. The city is known as the "Gateway to the North" because ...

, and represented Prince Albert in the

Legislative Assembly of the North-West Territories This is a list of the Northwest Territories Legislative Assemblies dates and legislative sessions from 1870–present. The current capital is Yellowknife since 1967. There have been twenty-seven legislatures since becoming a territory in 1870. ...

from 1891 to 1894 and from 1898 to 1905. McKay was the brother-in-law of Lawrence Clarke, and like Clarke was connected to the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

of Canada. A

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

or Anglo-Metis individual, McKay was involved in the 1885

North-West Rebellion The North-West Rebellion (french: Rébellion du Nord-Ouest), also known as the North-West Resistance, was a resistance by the Métis people under Louis Riel and an associated uprising by First Nations Cree and Assiniboine of the District of S ...

on the side of the

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

. He was one of the first 40 men to volunteer to help Major Crozier of the

North-West Mounted Police The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian para-military police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert’s Land and North-Western Territory ...

. He served as an

envoy Envoy or Envoys may refer to: Diplomacy * Diplomacy, in general * Envoy (title) * Special envoy, a type of diplomatic rank Brands *Airspeed Envoy, a 1930s British light transport aircraft *Envoy (automobile), an automobile brand used to sell Bri ...

to negotiate with Métis at Duck Lake. He also operated as a scout, relaying messages between Major Crozier and Colonel Irving. His brother James McKay served with C Company of the

Winnipeg Rifles The Winnipeg Rifles are a Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Rifles are members of the Canadian Junior Football League and play their home games in Maple Grove Park. History Junior football in Winnipeg dates back to the 19 ...

during the 1885 Rebellion.

Personal life

He was born on 4 July 1849 in

Fort Pelly Fort Pelly was a Hudson's Bay Company fur trading post located in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The fort was named after Sir John Pelly, governor of the Hudson's Bay Company. The current village of Pelly, Saskatchewan, takes its name f ...

, the son of William McKay and Mary Cook, and the brother of James McKay. He was educated at St. John's School in the

Red River settlement The Red River Colony (or Selkirk Settlement), also known as Assinboia, was a colonization project set up in 1811 by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, on of land in British North America. This land was granted to Douglas by the Hudson's Bay C ...

(today's

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

). McKay worked as a clerk for the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

from 1864 to 1873, when he settled in Prince Albert. In 1873, he married Catherine McBeath. McKay is buried at the Royal

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

cemetery on Royal Road south of Prince Albert.

Political career

In 1885, McKay became the first mayor of

. From 1891 to 1894 and from 1898 to 1905, he represented Prince Albert in the

Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly, or Legislative Council of the Northwest Territories (with Northwest hyphenated as North-West until 1906), is the legislature and the seat of government of Northwest Territories in Canada. It is a uni ...

. (He did not run for reelection in 1894 and was defeated in an 1897 by-election.) He also ran unsuccessfully for the

in the federal election of 1904 for the riding of

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 ...

when he was defeated by

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 ...

John Lamont John Robert Lamont (born 15 April 1976) is a Scottish Conservative Party politician and solicitor who has served in the British House of Commons as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk since 2017. Lamont previou ...

References

Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories Mayors of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan Métis politicians People of Rupert's Land Hudson's Bay Company people People of the North-West Rebellion Pre-Confederation Saskatchewan people 1849 births 1924 deaths Canadian Protestants Canadian Anglicans Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Canadian Métis people {{Saskatchewan-mayor-stub