William Alexander Macdonald
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William Alexander Macdonald was a Manitoba politician. He briefly served as leader of the Manitoba Conservatives during the 1890s.
Macdonald first ran for public office in the provincial election of 1888, losing in the riding of North Brandon to Liberal Clifford Sifton (later an important provincial and federal cabinet minister). He was elected for Brandon City in 1892, defeating incumbent Liberal James Smart by 12 votes.
Before 1892 election, Rodmond P. Roblin had been the de facto leader of the opposition Conservative caucus. With Roblin having lost his seat, Macdonald was chosen as his replacement and was recognized as the official leader of the opposition.
He did not serve in this capacity long. Macdonald's election was declared void in mid-1893, and he lost a by-election to Liberal Charles Adams on September 8 of the same year.
In 1896, Macdonald ran federally as the official Conservative candidate in Brandon. He was defeated by D'Alton McCarthy, a maverick Conservative who opposed the extension of French-language rights and was supported by local Liberals. Macdonald does not seem to have returned to politics after this time.
