Peter McLaren (politician)

Peter McLaren (1833–1919) was a Canadian politician.

The Honourable Peter McLaren
Senator for Perth, Ontario
In office February 21, 1890 – May 23, 1919
Appointed by	John A. Macdonald
Personal details
Born	September 21, 1833 Lanark, Upper Canada
Died	May 23, 1919 (aged 85) Perth, Ontario, Canada
Political party	Conservative

Born on September 21, 1833, in Lanark, Upper Canada,[1] he was the son of James McLaren, an immigrant from Scotland. He married Sophia, the daughter of William Lees.[2] McLaren was involved in the timber trade and operated sawmills in Carleton Place and at McLaren's depot on the Kingston and Pembroke Railway line[3] as well as in Alberta.[4] In 1881, the Ontario government passed the Rivers and Streams Act, mainly due to a dispute between McLaren and a rival lumber company over access to McLaren's timber slides on the Mississippi River. The act was disallowed by John Alexander Macdonald, leading to a dispute over jurisdiction between the Mowat government in Ontario and the federal government.[5] However, in 1884, the act was upheld by the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in McLaren v Caldwell.[6]

McLaren was appointed to the Senate of Canada in 1890 on the advice of John Alexander Macdonald representing the senatorial division of Perth, Ontario. A Conservative, he served 29 years[1] until his death in Perth on May 23, 1919.[1][3]

References

1. Peter McLaren – Parliament of Canada biography
2. The Canadian Parliament; biographical sketches and photo-engravures of the senators and members of the House of Commons of Canada ... 1904. p. 102. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
3. Brown, Howard Morton (2007). Lanark Legacy: Nineteenth Century Glimpses of an Ontario County. General Store Publishing House. pp. 230–242. ISBN 1-897113-62-5.
4. Crowsnest Pass Historical Society (1979). Crowsnest and its people. Coleman: Crowsnest Pass Historical Society. p. 27. ISBN 0-88925-046-4.
5. Romney, Paul (1999). Getting it wrong: how Canadians forgot their past and imperilled Confederation. University of Toronto Press. pp. 112–5. ISBN 0-8020-8105-3.
6. "Provincial plaque commemorates Rivers and Streams Act of 1884". Ontario Heritage Trust. Retrieved 2011-07-06.