Alexander Morris

Alexander Morris, politician (born 17 March 1826 in Perth, Upper Canada [Ontario]; died 28 October 1889 in Toronto, Ontario). Educated at Glasgow University, Queen's University and McGill University, Morris was law clerk to John A. Macdonald in whose Cabinet he later (1869) served  as minister of inland revenue. Morris shared the imperialist sentiments of the business class and in his pamphlet Nova Britannia spoke enthusiastically of confederation and Canada's western destiny. Appointed chief justice of Manitoba in 1872, he became lieutenant-governor of Manitoba (1873–77) and of the North-West Territories (1872–76). He brought some harmony to an unsettled province, introduced responsible government and established the University of Manitoba. He was also involved in negotiating Treaty 3, Treaty 4, Treaty 5 and Treaty 6 with the Plains Indigenous Peoples. The treaties covered a large part of the territory between Lake Superior and the Rocky Mountains. Morris later served in the Ontario legislature (1878–86), wrote a history of the treaties and continued his life work in the Presbyterian Church. He was a governor of both McGill and Queen's Universities.