John Alexander MacAulay (1895-1978)

Lawyer, businessman.

Born at Morden, Manitoba, on the site of the Morden Experimental Farm, he received his BA and Master of Laws from the University of Manitoba. He served overseas in World War One as a member of the Army Medical Corps, then became a lawyer with Aikins MacAulay and Thorvaldson. For many years he was Vice-President and Director of the Bank of Montreal. He was credited with bringing Canada Safeway Limited to Canada, serving as its Vice-President until his death.

A member of Westminister United Church, he taught one of the largest adult Bible classes in Canada in the 1930s and 1940s. He was President of the Manitoba Red Cross during World War Two, and President of the Canadian Red Cross Assocaition from 1950 to 1951. He was active with the Winnipeg Art Gallery (1950 to 1953) and the National Art Gallery of Canada (1955 to 1957). He was President of the Canadian Bar Association in 1953-54 and was appointed a Companion to the Order of Canada in 1967. He was awarded the Centennial Medal of Honour by the Manitoba Historical Society in 1970. He was made an Honorary Patron of the Canadian Foundation of the International College of Surgeons in 1971. He was an active supporter and honorary life member of the St. Andrew’s Society of Winnipeg. He was awarded honorary doctorates by the University of Manitoba (1954) and the University of Winnipeg (1970).

Brother-in-law of Andrew E. McGavin and brother of Archibald MacAulay.

Sources:

A Proud Heritage: A History of The St. Andrew’s Society of Winnipeg 1871-1982 by Thomas Saunders, Winnipeg: Peguis Publishers (1982).

Profile revised: 17 July 2009

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