Macdonald, William Ross, 1891-1976 : William Ross Macdonald was born December 25, 1891 in Toronto, Ontario, son of Julia Bulley and George Macdonald. In 1904, the family moved to Brantford, Ontario where George Macdonald opened a dry goods and clothing store.
W. Ross Macdonald was educated at Brantford Collegiate Institute, the University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall. In 1914, he enlisted in the army and served with the Canadian Expeditionary Force, 2nd Cycle Corps, 4th Battalion. In 1916, he was seriously injured in the battle of the Somme. After the war, in 1919, he graduated from Toronto's Osgoode Hall and joined Slaght and Agar, a law firm in Simcoe, Ontario. Soon thereafter he returned to Brantford where he established a law firm with his brother in 1920, and married Muriel Whitaker in 1921.
Macdonald ran as the Liberal candidate in six consecutive federal general elections in the constituency of Brantford City, later simply called Brantford. In 1926 and 1930 he was defeated by Conservative Robert E. Ryerson. In 1935 he defeated Ryerson and began his 18-year career as a Member of the House of Commons, being re-elected in 1940, 1945 and 1949. From 1945 to 1949 he served as Deputy Speaker of the House, and from 1949 to 1953 as Speaker. On May 12, 1953, he was appointed to the Privy Council and, a month later, on June 12, 1953, he was summoned to the Senate.
In the Senate, W. Ross Macdonald served as Government Leader in the Senate from 1953 to 1957, as Leader of the Opposition in the Senate from 1957 to1963, and again as Government Leader in the Senate from 1963 to 1964. During each of his terms as Government Leader in the Senate, Macdonald also held a cabinet post, from 1953 to 1957 as Solicitor General in the cabinet of Louis St. Laurent, and from 1963 to 1964 as Minister without Portfolio in the cabinet of Lester B. Pearson. In January 1964, Macdonald resigned as Government Leader in the Senate, although he remained a Senator until 1967. From 1964 until 1972 he was Chancellor of Waterloo Lutheran University.
In July 1968, William Ross Macdonald was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, a role in which he served until April 10, 1974. In 1974 he was named Officer of the Order of Canada. Wilfrid Laurier University (formerly Waterloo Lutheran University) and McMaster University awarded him honourary degrees.
William Ross Macdonald died in Brantford, Ontario on May 28, 1976, and was buried in Farringdon Burial Grounds in that city.
