Sir John A. MacDonald

He was born on January 11th, 1815 in Glasgow, Scotland. Sir John A. MacDonald, our first Prime Minister, has always been considered to be one of our greatest political leaders.

I like Sir John A. MacDonald because he played a large role in Canada's history. He is one of the Fathers of Confederation. I visited his summer house last year and visited his gravesite this year. Both are in Kingston, Ontario.

For Sir John A. MacDonald's grave he asked for a simple stone cross (as you can see in the picture on the right-hand side). The Canadian government added a fence, a Canadian flag and a monumental plaque.

Sir John A. MacDonald was a very great Prime Minister. All Canadians be grateful for the country we live in and for the man who made it happen.

Laurier House

Laurier House was the home of two famous Prime-Ministers: Sir Wilfred Laurier and William Lyon Mackenzie King. Laurier was the first French-speaking, Catholic born Prime Minister and King is the longest standing Prime Minister (22 years). Laurier lived in this house first and actually died in his bed in this very house after he had had a stroke while working at Parliament Hill earlier that day. His wife died two years later and left the house to Mackenzie King. He renovated the house and turned the third floor into his offices. His cosy office, tucked in a room on the front of Laurier House even has a crystal ball in it. He used to like to sit by his fireplace and read.

When he died, he left the house to the "Government and People of Canada" so that we could learn more about him and Laurier and what life in Canada was like at that time in history. The house is filled with all of his original furniture. Before he died though, he created "24 Sussex Drive" which is the official residence of the Prime Ministers of Canada.

A small room tucked away in the wall of the third floor was used for mediums to listen to spirits. Not everybody knows that King was a very spiritual man.

You can visit Laurier House too!

http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/on/laurier/index.aspx