Lincoln Alexander

Lincoln Alexander (born January 21, 1922, Toronto, Ontario, Canada—died October 19, 2012, Hamilton, Ontario) was a Canadian politician and lawyer who was the first Black member of the Canadian Parliament, serving in the House of Commons (1968–80); the first Black cabinet member, as minister of labour (1979–80); and the first Black person to hold a viceregal office in Canada, as the 24th lieutenant governor of Ontario (1985–91).

Alexander was born in Canada to parents who had immigrated from the West Indies. He served as a radio operator in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. In 1949 he received a bachelor’s degree from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. After graduating from Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto in 1953, Alexander practiced criminal law in Hamilton. In 1965 he was given the honorary title of Queen’s Counsel by the Ontario government. His law partners helped engender in him an interest in politics that led to his running for Parliament.

Alexander began his career in public office in 1968. In the face of the Liberal Party’s sweep of that year’s general election, he became the only member of the Progressive Conservative Party to be elected from an Ontario urban centre. As member of Parliament for Hamilton West, Alexander earned a reputation for honesty and directness. In the House of Commons he served his party as spokesperson on such subjects as housing, labour, immigration, and welfare. Alexander was reelected to the House of Commons four times. He was also designated observer to the United Nations for Canada in 1976 and 1978. When the Conservatives formed a government after the 1979 general election, Prime Minister Joe Clark appointed Alexander minister of labour in his short-lived cabinet. In 1980 Alexander resigned his parliamentary seat to become chair of the Ontario Workers’ Compensation Board.

On September 20, 1985, Alexander became lieutenant governor of Ontario, a largely ceremonial position. After he left the viceregal office in 1991, he served five terms as chancellor of the University of Guelph, Ontario, retiring in 2007. In 2006 Alexander published his autobiography, Go to School, You’re a Little Black Boy.

Alexander received many honours in his lifetime and after, including having an expressway, schools, and other buildings named for him. He was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1992 and a Knight of Justice of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem in 1994. In 2013 Ontario’s legislature officially designated every January 21—Alexander’s date of birth—as Lincoln Alexander Day. The following year the Canadian Parliament made Lincoln Alexander Day an annual observance across Canada.