Strathcona and Mount Royal, Baron of (1820-1914), Donald Alexander Smith, was a Canadian fur trader, railroad builder, financier, statesman, and philanthropist. He was closely associated with the Hudson’s Bay Company from 1838 until his death, and became a governor of the company in 1889. He went to Labrador when he was 18 and became a fur trader. Afterward, he moved to Canada and helped the Canadians acquire the territories of the Hudson’s Bay Company.
When Manitoba became a province of Canada, Smith was elected to the Manitoba Assembly. The next year he was appointed commissioner for the North West Territories and was elected to the Dominion House of Commons, serving from 1871 to 1880 and from 1887 to 1896.
Smith was the chief promoter of the Canadian Pacific Railway. He served as president of the Bank of Montreal and as chancellor of McGill University. From 1896 to 1906, he acted as Canadian High Commissioner in London. Many educational and charitable institutions took advantage of his generosity. He was born on Aug. 6, 1820, in Forres, Scotland. He died on Jan. 21, 1914.
