John McDougald was a merchant and political figure in 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...

, Canada. He represented Pictou

Pictou (electoral district)

Pictou was a federal electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1968. It was created in the British North America Act of 1867. It consisted of the County of Pictou. It was abolished in 1966 when it was merged into the riding of...

 in the Canadian House of Commons

Canadian House of Commons

The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

 from 1881 to 1896 as a Liberal-Conservative member.

He was born in Blue Mountain, Pictou County, Nova Scotia

Pictou County, Nova Scotia

Pictou County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It was established in 1835, and was formerly a part of Halifax County from 1759 to 1835. It had a population of 46,513 people in 2006, which represents a decline of 6.3 percent from 1991. It is the sixth most populous county in Nova...

, the son of Dougald McDougald and Elizabeth Fraser, of Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 descent. He was educated at New Glasgow

New Glasgow, Nova Scotia

New Glasgow is a town in Pictou County, in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is situated on the banks of the East River of Pictou, which flows into Pictou Harbour, a sub-basin of the Northumberland Strait....

 and established himself as a merchant in Westville. McDougald was named a justice of the peace

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

 in 1879 and served as a member of the first municipal council for Pictou County in 1879, being reelected in 1880, 1882 and 1884. He was first elected to the House of Commons in an 1881 by-election held after James McDonald was named Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. In 1882, he married Maggie J. McLeod. McDougald was named Commissioner of Customs in 1896. He was named to the Order of St. Michael and St. George in 1912. McDougald died 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...

at the age of 71.