Letter of the Day: Macdonald also did some good

After Victoria removes John A. Macdonald’s statue it might consider replacing it with one of Ulysses S. Grant. Had Macdonald not persuaded British Columbia to join Confederation in 1871 by promising it a rail link, the British colony could have joined the U.S.
The Americans, after purchasing Alaska from Russia in 1867, wanted to annex B.C. to bridge the gap between their two territories. This proposal was also attractive to some of the colony’s settlers and it kept Macdonald awake at