Grant, George Monro (1835-1902), was a Canadian educator, minister, and writer. He became best known as principal of Queen’s University, in Kingston, Ontario. He served there from 1877 until his death on May 10, 1902. Under his leadership, the university grew greatly in size and offered increased educational opportunities for women.
Grant was born on Dec. 22, 1835, in Albion Mines (now Stellarton), Nova Scotia. He attended the University of Glasgow in Scotland and, in 1860, was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in the Church of Scotland. In 1861, Grant returned to Nova Scotia, where he was minister of St. Matthew’s Church in Halifax from 1863 to 1877.
In 1872, Grant traveled across Canada with Sandford Fleming, a civil engineer who was searching for a route for a transcontinental railroad (see Fleming, Sir Sandford ). Grant’s account of the trip, Ocean to Ocean (1873)was an optimistic statement on Canada’s future. Grant was a supporter of Imperial Federation, the belief that Canada and other members of the British Empire should agree to trade with and defend one another. Grant also promoted national unity and opposed restrictions on Chinese immigration into Canada.
