William Alexander Macdonald
William Alexander Macdonald was a Manitoba lawyer and politician and British Columbia judge. He briefly served as leader of the [Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (historical)|Conservative Party of Manitoba|Manitoba Conservatives] during the 1890s.
Biography
Early life
Macdonald was born in St. Catharines, Ontario, the son of Frederick William Macdonald, and was educated there and at Osgoode Hall. Macdonald was called to the bars of both Ontario and Manitoba in 1882. He practised in Brandon, Manitoba from 1882 to 1897.Political career
Macdonald first ran for public office in the provincial election of 1888, losing in the riding of North Brandon to [Manitoba Manitoba Liberal Party|Liberal Party|Liberal] Clifford Sifton, who went on to become an important provincial and federal cabinet minister. Macdonald was elected for Brandon City in 1892, defeating incumbent Liberal James Smart by 12 votes.Before the 1892 election, Rodmond Roblin had been the de facto leader of the opposition Conservative caucus. With Roblin having lost his seat, Macdonald was chosen as his replacement and was recognized as the official leader of the opposition. He did not serve in this capacity long; Macdonald's election was declared void in mid-1893, and he lost a by-election to Liberal Charles Adams on September 8 of the same year.
In 1896, Macdonald ran federally as the official Conservative candidate in Brandon. He was defeated by D'Alton McCarthy, a maverick Conservative who opposed the extension of French-language rights and was supported by local Liberals.