William MacKay (September 11, 1847 – November 8, 1915) was a physician and political figure in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, Canada. He represented Cape Breton County in the

Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (french: Assemblée législative de la Nouvelle-Écosse; gd, Taigh Seanaidh Alba Nuadh), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia of the province of Nova Scotia ...

from 1886 to 1890 and from 1894 to 1897 as a

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 ...

member and sat for Cape Breton division in the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

from 1912 to 1915.

Biography

He was born in

Earltown, Nova Scotia Earltown, Nova Scotia ''(Baile-an-Iarla)'' is a Canadian rural community in Colchester County, Nova Scotia. The community is located 25 km north of the town of Truro on Route 311, on the north slope of the Cobequid Mountains. History Earl ...

, the son of John MacKay, a Scottish immigrant. He was educated in Earlton,

Pictou Pictou ( ; Canadian Gaelic: ''Baile Phiogto'') is a town in Pictou County, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Located on the north shore of Pictou Harbour, the town is approximately 10 km (6 miles) north of the larger town of New Gla ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. In 1875, he married Catherine Campbell Sutherland. He was president of the Cape Breton Medical Society and served on the Board of Health. He also served as physician for several coal mines in

Cape Breton Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-Breton, formerly '; gd, Ceap Breatainn or '; mic, Unamaꞌki) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18. ...

. McKay was an unsuccessful candidate for a seat in the House of Commons in 1904. He died in office on November 8, 1915.

References

1847 births 1915 deaths Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia MLAs Canadian senators from Nova Scotia Nova Scotia political party leaders {{ProgressiveConservative-NovaScotia-MLA-stub