Riel and Macdonald: The Masters of Our Destiny

A crucial criterion utilized to distinguish a man’s contribution to Canada is one’s historical significance. A feat which inscribed the name, “John A. Macdonald” in perpetuity into all Canadians, and a title which on its own deserves recognition, is that he was the first Prime Minister of Canada. As our first leader, he was the master architect who, with help from others, erected the foundation for Canada. Although the Province of Canada was not the initial participants of the Charlottetown Conference, Macdonald, with champagne in his arsenal, was soon paving the path towards confederation. He was the primary initiator of the Quebec Conference, and a major delegate at all conferences. Macdonald was a visionary. His enormous aspiration to build a dominion from sea to sea was only matched by his greatest achievement: the Canadian Pacific Railway. After confederation, Macdonald sought to bring British Columbia into the Dominion. However, British Columbia was reluctant to accept due to its distant location in relation to the rest of Canada. Prime Minister Macdonald promised to construct a railroad to connect the east, essentially stitching the nation with train tracks.