---
node: na_macdonald
type: person
slug: john_a_macdonald
title: "John A. Macdonald"
lead: "John A. Macdonald (1815–1891) was the first Prime Minister of Canada and a leading architect of Confederation. He led the new dominion for most of its first quarter-century."
published: 2026-07-13
updated: 2026-07-13
---

## Who they were

A Scottish-born lawyer in Ontario, Macdonald guided the colonies toward the 1867 union and became Canada's first prime minister. He built a national party and governed for nineteen years in two spells.

## What they did

He drove the completion of the transcontinental railway that bound the young country together and oversaw its expansion to the Pacific. His National Policy shaped Canadian tariffs and settlement.

## Legacy

Macdonald is honored as a founder of Canada, but his legacy is now sharply contested for his government's residential-school policy and its treatment of Indigenous peoples.