Hugh Macdonald, PC

Queen's Privy Council for Canada

The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...

 (May 4, 1827 – February 28, 1899) was a lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

, judge

Judge

A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...

 and member of the First Canadian Parliament

1st Canadian Parliament

The 1st Canadian Parliament was in session from November 6, 1867 until July 8, 1872. The membership was set by the 1867 federal election from August 7 to September 20, 1867, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections until it was prorogued prior to the 1872 election.It was...

. He represented the Antigonish

Antigonish (electoral district)

Antigonish was a federal electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1917. It was created in the British North America Act in 1867. The federal riding was dissolved in 1914 into the riding of Antigonish—Guysborough...

 riding of Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

, from 1867 to 1869, along with William Hallett Ray

William Hallett Ray

William Hallett Ray was a Canadian politician, farmer, and merchant.Born in Clementsport, Annapolis Valley, Ray was elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly for Annapolis County in an 1864 by-election held after James William Johnston was named to the bench...

, as an Anti-Confederate and, from 1869 to 1873, as a Liberal-Conservative.

The son of Allan McDonald and Christina Cameron, he was educated at Saint Francis Xavier University and called to the Nova Scotia bar in 1855. McDonald married Sarah Smith in 1856. He practiced law in Antigonish, Nova Scotia

Antigonish, Nova Scotia

Antigonish is a Canadian town in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia. The town is home to St. Francis Xavier University and the oldest continuous highland games in North America.-History:...

. McDonald represented Antigonish County in the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia from 1859 to 1863. In 1872, he was named Queen's Counsel

Queen's Counsel

Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...

.

McDonald served as President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada

President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada

In the Canadian cabinet, the President of The Queen's Privy Council for Canada is nominally in charge of the Privy Council Office. The President of the Privy Council also has the largely ceremonial duty of presiding over meetings of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, a body which only convenes...

 and Minister of Militia and Defense

Minister of Militia and Defence (Canada)

The Minister of Militia and Defence was the federal government minister in charge of the volunteer army units in Canada prior to the creation of the Canadian Militia, before the creation of the Canadian Army....

 in 1873. Later that year, he resigned his seat in parliament to accept an appointment to the Nova Scotia Supreme Court

Nova Scotia Supreme Court

The Nova Scotia Supreme Court is a superior court in the province of Nova Scotia.The Court comprises the Chief Justice , the Associate Chief justice, twenty-one judges and six supernumerary Justices, who sit in 18 different locations around the province.-Jurisdiction:As with all superior courts...

.

McDonald served as puisne judge in the Supreme Court

Supreme court

A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of many legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, instance court, judgment court, high court, or apex court...

from November 1873 until he retired from the bench in 1893.