William McDonald (October 7, 1837 – July 4, 1916) was a Canadian politician.
Born at the Settlement of River Deny's Road, Inverness, Nova Scotia, the son of Mary McDonald and Allan McDonald, who emigrated from South Uist, Scotland, McDonald was educated at St. Francois Xavier College, Antigonish, Nova Scotia.
A merchant, he was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada for Cape Breton in the 1872 federal election. A Conservative, he was re-elected in 1874, 1878, and 1882. In 1884, he was called to the Senate on the advice of John Alexander Macdonald representing the senatorial division of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. He served for almost 44 years as a member of parliament and senator until his death in 1916.[1]
The intersection of Main, Union and Commercial streets in downtown Glace Bay is named "Senator's Corner" in his honour.[2]
Electoral record
| 1878 Canadian federal election: Cape Breton | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Elected | ||||
| Liberal–Conservative | Hugh McLeod | 2,056 | – | 
| ||||
| Conservative | William McDonald | 2,051 | – |
| ||||
| Liberal | Newton LeGayet Mackay | 1,153 | ||||||
| Unknown | Walter Young | 696 | ||||||
| 1874 Canadian federal election: Cape Breton | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Elected | ||||
| Conservative | William McDonald | 1,251 | – |
| ||||
| Liberal | Newton LeGayet Mackay | 1,136 | – |
| ||||
| Liberal–Conservative | Hugh McLeod | 1,108 | – | |||||
| Source: Canadian Elections Database[3] | ||||||||
| 1872 Canadian federal election: Cape Breton | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Elected | ||||
| Conservative | Newton LeGayet MacKay | 1,240 | – |
| ||||
| Conservative | William McDonald | 1,038 | – |
| ||||
| Liberal–Conservative | Hugh McLeod | 932 | ||||||
| Liberal–Conservative | James McKeagney | 882 | ||||||
| Source: Canadian Elections Database[4] | ||||||||
References
- ^ Personnel of the Senate and House of Commons, eighth Parliament of Canada, elected June 23, 1896. Montreal: Lovell. 1898. pp. 83. Retrieved 2007-04-27.
- ^ Pat MacAdam, ["Senator Billy: a land-owning legend http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/NS-CAPE-BRETON/2005-08/1125189828] Cape Breton Post, August 25, 2005
- ^ Sayers, Anthony M. "1874 Federal Election". Canadian Elections Database. Archived from the original on 22 January 2024.
- ^ Sayers, Anthony M. "1872 Federal Election". Canadian Elections Database. Archived from the original on 3 February 2024.
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