Alexander McLellan Mackay (1834 – November 24, 1905) was a businessman and politician in Newfoundland. He represented Burgeo from 1878 to 1885 as a Liberal and Port de Grave from 1900 to 1905 as a Conservative in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly

Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly

The Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly is one of two components of the General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador, the other being the Lieutenant-Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Newfoundland and Labrador General Assembly meets in the Confederation Building at St...

.

He was born in Pictou, Nova Scotia

Pictou, Nova Scotia

Pictou is a town in Pictou County, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Located on the north shore of Pictou Harbour, the town is approximately 10 km north of the larger town of New Glasgow....

. He taught school for a short time and then worked as a telegraph operator in Halifax

City of Halifax

Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...

, Hamilton

Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...

 and New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. In 1805, Mackay married Elizabeth O'Neill. He came to Newfoundland in 1857 as superintendent for the New York, Newfoundland and London Telegraph Company (later the Anglo-American Telegraph Company). Mackay served in the province's Executive Council as a minister without portfolio

Minister without Portfolio

A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry...

 from 1882 to 1885. In 1885, he founded the St. John's Electric Light Company, the first and established the first public telephone system in Newfoundland in St. John's

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...

. He was named to the Legislative Council of Newfoundland

Legislative Council of Newfoundland

The Legislative Council of Newfoundland was established in 1854 when the British Government granted a new constitution to Newfoundland establishing an Executive Council of not more than seven members of the majority party and a Legislative Council of not more than 15 members upon nomination of the...

 in 1885 and served until 1896, when he was forced to resign after being accused of misuse of public funds. Mackay was provincial grand master for the Freemasons. He died in St. John's in 1905.