Wandering Willie: The Memoirs of William McDougall 1822-1905 Canada’s Forgotten Father of Confederation

Wandering Willie: The Memoirs of William McDougall 1822-1905 Canada’s Forgotten Father of Confederation by Daniel Livermore

To how many men does it fall to build a country? That was the questions I asked myself years earlier, in 1867, as I was sworn into the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada. I had started my political career … by launching the Clear Grit movement. …I had been honoured by the Queen as a Commander of the Order of the Bath in the year of Confederation, and I had negotiated the acquisition of the North-West. I had fought for a Canadian nationality, struggled for a trade policy suitable to our times and circumstances, and wrestled with the divisive issues of race, language, and religion that could imperil our young Dominion. I achieved all of these goals while preserving my independence of view.

William McDougall: lawyer, newspaper owner, journalist, politician. A Father of Confederation who championed such liberal ideals as rep-by-pop, free trade, and universal suffrage (including votes for women). An eccentric romantic, who stubbornly refused either to lead or to follow, which earned him the nickname “Wandering Willie”. A fierce defender of an Independent Canada, no matter the cost to himself.

These are the memoirs that William McDougall, Canada’s Forgotten Father of Confederation, never completed. But should have.

ISBN: 978-1-77257-278-0 (PB)