Charles Alexander Magrath

Charles Alexander Magrath
Member of Parliament for Medicine Hat
In office 1908–1911
Preceded by	District created
Succeeded by	William Ashbury Buchanan
Personal details
Born	April 22, 1860(1860-04-22) North Augusta, Ontario, Canada
Died	October 30, 1949(1949-10-30) (aged 89) Victoria, British Columbia
Political party	Conservative

Charles Alexander Magrath conducted foundation surveys of the Northwest Territories from 1878 until 1885. He joined Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt and Elliot Torrance Galt in their western industrial enterprises as a surveyor, later becoming Elliott's assistant and Land Commissioner of the North Western Coal and Navigation Company. He was also the first mayor of Lethbridge, Alberta, which has a major street (Mayor Magrath Drive) named after him.

Magrath was a member of the Northwest Territories Legislature from 1891–1898). He was appointed as a cabinet minister in the Frederick Haultain administration in 1897. In the 1891 and 1894 general elections and an 1897 by-election, he represented Lethbridge and was acclaimed.

Magrath ran as a Member of Parliament representing the Medicine Hat constituency (1908–1911). He was fuel Controller during the Great War and chairman of Ontario Hydro and the Canadian section of the International Joint Commission. He also served on the Newfoundland Royal Commission of 1933.

He married Margaret Holmes White Mair in 1887. After giving birth to a son, Charles Bolton, in 1888, she died in June 1892 of complications following the birth of a daughter. In 1899, he married Mabel Lillian Galt, a daughter of Sir Alexander and half-sister of Elliot Galt. Two daughters were born of this union: Amy and Laura.

Magrath has been called "The Father of Irrigation in Southern Alberta". However, during his lifetime he was quick to acknowledge the contributions of Charles Ora Card, the LDS Church, and Elliot Galt to the development of irrigation in the Lethbridge region. The community of Magrath, Alberta is named in his honour.

See also

• Montague Aldous

External links

• Charles Alexander Magrath - Parliament of Canada biography

Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories
Preceded by New District	MLA Lethbridge 1891–1898	Succeeded by Leverett DeVeber
Parliament of Canada
Preceded by New District	Member of Parliament Medicine Hat 1908–1911	Succeeded by William Ashbury Buchanan

Persondata
Name	Magrath, Charles
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	April 22, 1860
Place of birth	North Augusta, Ontario, Canada
Date of death	October 30, 1949
Place of death	Victoria, British Columbia