Alexander James McPhail

Alexander James McPhail (23 December 1883 – 21 October 1931) was a Scottish-Canadian agricultural reformer, and the first elected president of the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool. The Canadian government designated him a Person of National Historic Significance in 1971.

Early life

Alexander McPhail was born in Paisley, Ontario, the eldest of eight or nine siblings. In 1902, when he was nineteen, his parents died. He eventually took his homestead West, settling in Bankend, Saskatchewan in 1906. Concurrently, he had been enlisted in the military as a member of the domestic militia.

In 1922, he became the Secretary of the Saskatchewan Grain Growers Association, replacing J.B. Musselman. McPhail held this position until his resignation in 1924. His administration was involved with the purchase of the elevator system owned by the Saskatchewan Co-operative Elevator Co.

Political views McPhail was a firm believer in voluntary marketing, going so far as to campaign against compulsory marketing.

He was in opposition against high salaries for top managers at the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, stating: "Seven thousand a year should be enough for any man if his heart is in the work". He, himself, only had a salary of $4,000 a year, comparable to what he could have earned farming.

Legacy Malis and Lockwood unveiling plaque in honour of A.J. McPhailUniversity of Saskatchewan, University Archives & Special Collections, Saskatchewan Wheat Pool fonds, Series 10, Box 142

There is a plaque dedicated to McPhail on the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool Building at 2625 Victoria Avenue in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Harold Innis identified himself with McPhail's character. In compiling McPhail's diary, he describes McPhail as having "a strong sense of humour … as well as a hard agnostic bent of mind which resisted emotionalism and made imposition difficult.... He disliked publicity... He read widely, and particularly biography..." In the same work, Innis quotes an uncited source's description of McPhail, who "loathed cynicism, smartness, and pomposity in equal degrees. He admired brains and respected honesty.… It was difficult for him to unbend physically or mentally … no use for cards in any form, or any time-wasting pastimes except conversation".