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Lincoln Alexander, first black MP, dead
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TORONTO – Lincoln Alexander, Canada’s first black MP and former Ontario lieutenant governor, has died at the age of 90.
Lt.-Gov. David Onley tweeted the news Friday morning, offering his condolences to Alexander’s wife Marni and his family.
The man known to all as “Linc” was a “living legend” in his hometown of Hamilton and a man whose life and career were “a series of groundbreaking firsts,” Onley said in a statement.
“At a time when racism was endemic in Canadian society, he broke through barriers that treated visible minorities as second-class citizens, strangers in their own land,” he said.
“Lincoln Alexander’s whole life was a rebuke to those who would equate ability with skin colour,” Onley added. “He overcame poverty and prejudice to scale the professional and political highs.”
Outside the provincial legislature, the Canadian and Ontario flags were taken down then raised to half mast in recognition of Alexander’s death.
Alexander served as Ontario’s lieutenant governor from 1985 to 1991 — the province’s first black vice-regal — among his many accomplishments.
Born in Toronto in 1922 to West Indian immigrants, Alexander served with the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second Wold War, from 1942 until 1945.
He received a Bachelor of Arts at McMaster University in 1949 and graduated from Toronto’s prestigious Osgoode Hall Law School in 1953. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1965.
Alexander ran in the federal riding of Hamilton West for the first time in 1965, but lost. He was finally elected in 1968, becoming the first black member of Parliament in Canada. He was re-elected three times, in 1972, 1979 and 1980.
He was also Canada’s first black cabinet minister, serving the labour portfolio from 1979 to 1980 under the Progressive Conservative government of Joe Clark.
Alexander left the House of Commons in 1980 to serve as chairman of the Ontario Workman’s Compensation Board. In 1985, he was appointed Ontario’s 24th lieutenant governor and held the post until 1991, focusing on youth and education.
In 1992, Alexander was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada and to the Order of Ontario.
After leaving office, Alexander went on to serve as chancellor of the University of Guelph, serving five terms as chancellor at the University of Guelph — the longest-serving in the school’s history.
Premier Dalton McGuinty also offered his condolences, saying the country has lost “a remarkable Ontarian and a great Canadian.”
“Lincoln was a towering man, and his stature matched his influence,” McGuinty said in a statement.
Alexander left an “extraordinary legacy,” both in his private life and as a public servant, he added.
“He broke down barriers,” McGuinty said. “He made Ontario a better place for all of us, the next generation of public servants and citizens.”
Hamilton Police Chief Glenn De Caire noted that Alexander — the honorary chief of police — was voted as the greatest Hamiltonian of all time in 2006.
Alexander made headlines last year when he married Marni Beal, a woman nearly 30 years his junior. His first wife Yvonne, who was five years older, died in 1999 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
He spoke openly of their love story, admitting he was hesitant to propose.
“If you go to Toronto, the place is full of interracial couples. Race doesn’t mean a damn thing anymore,” he told the media in April 2011.
[But] an old codger like me marrying a girl 30 years his junior?! I was afraid to ask her.”
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. An earlier version said Alexander left the House of Commons in 1985. In fact, he resigned in 1980.
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