Robert Mackay
Encyclopedia
Robert Mackay was a Canadian
businessman and statesman.
An 1855 emigrant to Montreal
, Canada
from his birthplace in Caithness
, Scotland
, Robert Mackay got his start working at the Henry Morgan & Company
department store. He then went to work for Mackay Brothers wholesalers, owned by his uncles. Highly successful in business, he became a close business associate of powerful Montreal entrepreneurs: Rodolphe Forget
, stockbroker, Herbert S. Holt
, President of the Royal Bank of Canada
, and Vincent Meredith
, President of the Bank of Montreal
.
Robert Mackay was president of Herald Publishing Company, vice-president of the Bell Telephone Company of Canada
, and sat on the board of directors
of Canadian Pacific Railway
, Royal Trust Company
, Bank of Montreal
, Montreal Light, Heat & Power Company
, Dominion Textile Company, Limited
and others.
A member of the Liberal Party of Canada
, he twice ran unsuccessfully for the Canadian House of Commons
as the Liberal Party of Canada
candidate for the St. Antoine, Quebec riding in the 1896
and 1900 Canadian federal elections
. In 1901 he was appointed by Prime Minister Laurier
to the Canadian Senate
where he served until his death on Christmas Day in 1916.
Robert Mackay is interred with his wife Jane in the Mount Royal Cemetery
in Montreal. His daughter, Cairine Mackay Wilson
became the first woman appointed to the Canadian Senate.
His brother Hugh
served in Quebec's Legislative Council.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
businessman and statesman.
An 1855 emigrant to Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
from his birthplace in Caithness
Caithness
Caithness is a registration county, lieutenancy area and historic local government area of Scotland. The name was used also for the earldom of Caithness and the Caithness constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . Boundaries are not identical in all contexts, but the Caithness area is...
, Scotland
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...
, Robert Mackay got his start working at the Henry Morgan & Company
Morgan's
Morgan's was a Montreal-based Canadian department store chain. At its peak, the company had stores in Quebec and Ontario...
department store. He then went to work for Mackay Brothers wholesalers, owned by his uncles. Highly successful in business, he became a close business associate of powerful Montreal entrepreneurs: Rodolphe Forget
Rodolphe Forget
Sir Joseph David Rodolphe Forget was an important Canadian business investor, stockbroker, and politician. He held national directorships and had major investments in energy companies as well as industrial concerns and railway companies in the Provinces of Quebec and Ontario...
, stockbroker, Herbert S. Holt
Herbert Samuel Holt
Sir Herbert Samuel Holt was an Irish-born Canadian civil engineer who became a businessman, banker, and corporate director....
, President of the Royal Bank of Canada
Royal Bank of Canada
The Royal Bank of Canada or RBC Financial Group is the largest financial institution in Canada, as measured by deposits, revenues, and market capitalization. The bank serves seventeen million clients and has 80,100 employees worldwide. The company corporate headquarters are located in Toronto,...
, and Vincent Meredith
Vincent Meredith
Sir Vincent Meredith, 1st and last Baronet of Montreal , was a Canadian banker and philanthropist; President of the Bank of Montreal, the Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts...
, President of the Bank of Montreal
Bank of Montreal
The Bank of Montreal , , or BMO Financial Group, is the fourth largest bank in Canada by deposits. The Bank of Montreal was founded on June 23, 1817 by John Richardson and eight merchants in a rented house in Montreal, Quebec. On May 19, 1817 the Articles of Association were adopted, making it...
.
Robert Mackay was president of Herald Publishing Company, vice-president of the Bell Telephone Company of Canada
Bell Canada
Bell Canada is a major Canadian telecommunications company. Including its subsidiaries such as Bell Aliant, Northwestel, Télébec, and NorthernTel, it is the incumbent local exchange carrier for telephone and DSL Internet services in most of Canada east of Manitoba and in the northern territories,...
, and sat on the board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
, Royal Trust Company
Royal Bank of Canada
The Royal Bank of Canada or RBC Financial Group is the largest financial institution in Canada, as measured by deposits, revenues, and market capitalization. The bank serves seventeen million clients and has 80,100 employees worldwide. The company corporate headquarters are located in Toronto,...
, Bank of Montreal
Bank of Montreal
The Bank of Montreal , , or BMO Financial Group, is the fourth largest bank in Canada by deposits. The Bank of Montreal was founded on June 23, 1817 by John Richardson and eight merchants in a rented house in Montreal, Quebec. On May 19, 1817 the Articles of Association were adopted, making it...
, Montreal Light, Heat & Power Company
Montreal Light, Heat & Power
The Montreal Light, Heat and Power Company was a utility company operating the electric and gas distribution monopoly in the area of Montreal, Quebec, Canada until its nationalization by the government of Quebec in 1944, under a law creating the Quebec Hydroelectric Commission, also known as...
, Dominion Textile Company, Limited
Dominion Textile
The Dominion Textile Inc. or Domtex was a major Canadian textile manufacturer that was founded in 1905 and closed in 1998 when its remains were purchased by the American Polymer Group, at the time headed by Jerry Zucker....
and others.
A member of the Liberal Party of Canada
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
, he twice ran unsuccessfully for 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...
as the Liberal Party of Canada
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
candidate for the St. Antoine, Quebec riding in the 1896
Canadian federal election, 1896
The Canadian federal election of 1896 was held on June 23, 1896 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Canada. Though the Conservative Party won a plurality of the popular vote, the Liberal Party, led by Wilfrid Laurier, won the majority of seats to form the...
and 1900 Canadian federal elections
Canadian federal election, 1900
The Canadian federal election of 1900 was held on November 7 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 9th Parliament of Canada. As a result of the election, the Liberal Party, led by Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier, was re-elected to a second majority government, defeating the...
. In 1901 he was appointed by Prime Minister Laurier
Wilfrid Laurier
Sir Wilfrid Laurier, GCMG, PC, KC, baptized Henri-Charles-Wilfrid Laurier was the seventh Prime Minister of Canada from 11 July 1896 to 6 October 1911....
to the Canadian Senate
Canadian Senate
The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons, and the monarch . The Senate consists of 105 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister...
where he served until his death on Christmas Day in 1916.
Robert Mackay is interred with his wife Jane in the Mount Royal Cemetery
Mount Royal Cemetery
Opened in 1852, Mount Royal Cemetery is a 165-acre terraced cemetery on the north slope of Mount Royal in the borough of Outremont, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The burial ground shares the mountain with the much larger adjacent Roman Catholic cemetery -- Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges...
in Montreal. His daughter, Cairine Mackay Wilson
Cairine Wilson
Cairine Reay Mackay Wilson was Canada's first female senator.-Early life:Born Cairine Reay Mackay in Montreal, she was the daughter of Jane Mackay and Robert Mackay, a Liberal Senator and personal friend of Sir Wilfrid Laurier. She attended Elmwood School and was "head girl" in her graduating year...
became the first woman appointed to the Canadian Senate.
His brother Hugh
Hugh Mackay (Quebec politician)
Hugh Mackay was a Scottish-born businessman and political figure in Quebec. He was a member of the Legislative Council of Quebec representing Victoria division from April 4 to 13 in 1888....
served in Quebec's Legislative Council.