John A. Macdonald stands as one of the most influential and controversial figures in Canadian history, a political architect whose vision helped bring a nation into being. The first Prime Minister of Canada. His rise through colonial politics, his central role in Confederation and his leadership in the first decades of this country’s existence shaped the nation we understand today in so many ways. He was a man of ambition, a man of compromises, and a man of contradictions and the complexities that defined him also defined his leadership in a fragile, emerging country dealing with a rapidly evolving world and continent. Through both achievement and controversy, Macdonald’s legacy continues to shape Canada. In this first installment of a two part series we look at John A Macdonald’s immigration to Canada from Scotland, his life as a lawyer, his early entry into politics and his role in shaping the confederation debates.

Patrice Dutil is a professor of politics and public administration at Toronto Metropolitan University. He has written, co-written and edited fourteen books and has covered many aspects of leadership, both at the political and the administrative level. Dutil is known for having founded the Literary Review of Canada thirty-five years ago. He was also the President of the Champlain Society for nearly a decade.

Dutil has written extensively about Macdonald. He co-edited Macdonald at 200: New Perspectives and Legacies with Roger Hall. That book came out in 2015. More recently, he has published Sir John A. Macdonald and the Apocalyptic Year of 1885 and Ballots and Brawls: the 1867 Canadian General Election.

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