Sir John A. Macdonald was Canada’s 1st Prime Minister (1867-1873, 1878-1891)
1) Successfully defended Abraham Brandt of the Mohawk nation who was accused of murder in 1839, convincing the jury to reduce the conviction to manslaughter.
2) Met, and later married, his cousin Isabella Clark while on a six-month vacation to Scotland and England using $3,500 he won gambling in 1842.
3) Challenged another member of the United Canadas Legislative Assembly to a duel. He accused Reform member William Hume Blake of quoting passages from the Rebellion Losses Bill out of the context during an 1849 debate. The Speaker recalled both men to the legislature and demanded they keep the peace. The duel was averted.
4) In his third month as Canada’s first Prime Minister, one of his major investments evaporated when Kingston’s Commercial Bank folded. He ended up owing 10 times more than he was earning annually as the country’s leader.
5) Ran for re-election in three ridings during the 1878 campaign that returned him to power. Although he was defeated in his hometown, Kingston, he was elected by two ridings in the West he had never visited: Marquette, Manitoba, and Victoria, British Columbia. He chose to represent Victoria, but didn’t visit the area until four years after serving as its Member of Parliament.
from Unknown and Unforgettable: A Guide to Canada’s Prime Ministers
Pierre Trudeau always had a way of grabbing headlines. As the Unconventional Prime Minister, he attracted attention from the start of his political career, capturing his first Newsmaker of the Year nod in 1968, the year he became PM. He went on to win the designation 10 more times, being chosen an impressive eight years in row from 1968 to 1975, then again three years later. In 1999, he was picked again — as well as crowned Canadian Newsmaker of the Century. Trudeau received the title one last time in 2000, the year he died.
No, they haven’t. But two came very close. Lester Pearson enjoyed a prolific and competitive hockey career, particularly during his years studying at Oxford, playing for Switzerland in the European championships in 1922. The following year, he was approached to play for England’s hockey team in the 1924 Winter Olympic Games in Chamonix, France. He turned it down, having just accepted a job as a lecturer at the University of Toronto.
1950: Canada’s longest-serving Prime Minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King, 75, died in the farmhouse at his Kingsmere summer residence shortly before 10 p.m. King’s death had a paranormal twist, much like aspects of his life.
1896: Although the Conservatives clearly lost the election on June 23, 117 to 86 seats against Wilfrid Laurier‘s Liberal party, Prime Minister Sir Charles Tupper has been clinging to power ever since. He has been determined to get approval for a few initiatives before stepping down, namely a new steamship line and raft of patronage appointments.
1885: The government of Sir John A. Macdonald passes the Dominion Franchise Act, moving the criteria for voting eligibility from the provinces to Ottawa. As a result, some groups who have had the vote in parts of the country – widows, spinsters and some indigenous groups – lose it.
1873: Several Canadian newspapers publish a telegram sent by Sir John A. Macdonald during last year’s election campaign to CPR solicitor (and future Prime Minister) John Abbott begging for more campaign funds. “I must have another ten thousand,” urged Macdonald. “Will be the last time of calling. Do not fail me.”
1983: The first Canada Day is celebrated on Parliament Hill with Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau there as an observer with his three sons including Justin Trudeau. The holiday was renamed Canada Day in legislation passed October 27, 1982.
1879: For the second time, former prime minister Alexander Mackenzie refuses a knighthood offered by Queen Victoria. And just in case you think he wasn’t serious about rejecting a peerage offered by Britain, he’ll turn down the offer a third time in two years.
Canadian Prime Ministers 