For the week of January 19, 2026.
On January 21, 1922, Lincoln MacCauley Alexander was born in Toronto, Ontario. He went on to become a veteran of the Second World War, lawyer, and politician. A leader in the fight for equality, he broke racial barriers as the first person of African descent to serve as a Member of Parliament and Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. His birthday has been observed in Canada as Lincoln Alexander Day since 2015.
Alexander was born to Mae Rose (née Royale) and Lincoln MacCauley Alexander Sr. His father moved to Canada from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. He was a carpenter by trade but worked as a porter for the Canadian Pacific Railway. His mother was from Jamaica and worked as a maid. These jobs were among the few available to people of African descent in Canada at a time of widespread racial discrimination. As a teenager, his parents separated and he moved with his mother to Harlem, New York. He returned to Toronto after three years to live with his father.
When the Second World War (1939–1945) began, Alexander worked in a factory making anti-aircraft guns in Hamilton, Ontario. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1942. At the Number 7 Observer School in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, he served as a wireless operator, working in communications and flying on training missions. In the spring of 1945, he was honourably discharged and returned to Hamilton.
Alexander began his studies at McMaster University in 1946. While working towards his degree, he married Yvonne Harrison in 1948 and they welcomed a son the next year. In 1949 he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and then enrolled in law school at Osgoode Hall in Toronto, graduating in 1953. He worked at three Hamilton law firms before co-founding the firm of Millar, Alexander, Tokiwa and Isaacs in 1962. This was one of the earliest firms to challenge the norm of only hiring men racialized as “white.” Alexander was only the fifth lawyer of African descent in Ontario history.
In 1960 Alexander travelled to 23 African countries. This was “a journey of self-awareness” that helped inspire his commitment to combat racism and his entry into politics. In 1965 he ran as a federal Conservative candidate for Hamilton West but lost. When he tried again in 1968, he won the seat, becoming the first person of African descent elected to the House of Commons. He was re-elected four times, serving a total of 12 years. In 1979 he accepted appointment as minister of labour, which made him the first African Canadian cabinet member.
Alexander left politics to chair the Workers’ Compensation Board of Ontario from 1980 to 1985, when he became the 24th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. He was the first racialized person to hold any vice-regal position in Canada. In this role, he prioritized the advancement of youth, fighting racism, and advocating on behalf of seniors.
After his term ended in 1991, Alexander served as chancellor of the University of Guelph until 2007 and chaired the new Canadian Race Relations Foundation after 1996. He received numerous awards and honours, including appointments as a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1992 and the Order of Ontario in 2006, as well as six honorary degrees. Lincoln M. Alexander died in Hamilton on October 19, 2012, at the age of 90.
