Malcolm Alexander Patterson (June 18, 1890 – 1965) was a lawyer 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 Cape Breton West

Cape Breton West

Cape Breton West is a provincial electoral district in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly....

 in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly

Nova Scotia House of Assembly

The Nova Scotia Legislature, consisting of Her Majesty The Queen represented by the Lieutenant Governor and the House of Assembly, is the legislative branch of the provincial government of Nova Scotia, Canada...

 from 1937 to 1956 as a Liberal

Liberal Party of Nova Scotia

The Liberal Party of Nova Scotia is a political party in Nova Scotia, Canada.-Origins:The party is descended from the pre-Confederation Reformers in Nova Scotia who coalesced around Joseph Howe demanding the institution of responsible government...

 member.

He was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia

Sydney, Nova Scotia

Sydney is a Canadian urban community in the province of Nova Scotia. It is situated on the east coast of Cape Breton Island and is administratively part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality....

, the son of Alexander Patterson and Jeanie McKenzie. He was educated at the Sydney Academy and Dalhousie University

Dalhousie University

Dalhousie University is a public research university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university comprises eleven faculties including Schulich School of Law and Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine. It also includes the faculties of architecture, planning and engineering located at...

, where he studied law. Patterson set up practice in Sydney. In 1920, he married Georgina Isabel Ross. Patterson served as Crown Prosecutor for Cape Breton County

Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia

Cape Breton County, officially, County Cape Breton, is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, on Cape Breton Island.Taking its name from Cape Breton, the most easterly point of the island which was called after the Bretons of Brittany, this municipality has what is probably the oldest...

from 1921 to 1925 and from 1935 to 1952. He was a member of the province's Executive Council, serving as provincial secretary from 1947 to 1951, as Minister of Mines from 1947 to 1949, as Minister of Municipal Affairs in 1949 and as Attorney General from 1949 to 1953. Patterson was defeated when he ran for reelection in 1956.