Charles Mair
Charles Mair was a Canadian poet and nationalist born in 1838 in Lanark, Upper Canada, now Ontario. He began his career in the family timber business and later pursued education, attending Perth Grammar School and taking classes at the University of Kensington. Mair became involved in the Canada First movement and served as a paymaster in the Red River settlement. He married Elizabeth Louise MacKenny and together they raised six children. Mair's career spanned various roles, including quartermaster during the Riel Rebellion and positions in the Federal Immigration Service. His literary contributions included poetry and plays, with his first published collection, "Dreamland, and Other Poems," released in 1868, a significant year marking personal and professional transitions for him. Mair's experiences in the Red River region, including his capture by Louis Riel during the Metis revolt, shaped his perspectives and writings. He continued to write and work in government until his passing at the age of eighty-eight, leaving behind a legacy of literature and involvement in Canadian national identity.
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Subject Terms
Charles Mair
Poet
- Born: September 21, 1838
- Birthplace: Lanark (Bathurst district), Upper Canada (now Ontario)
- Died: 1927
- Place of death: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Biography
Charles Mair, a poet and national political figure, was born in 1838 in the timber-rich region of Lanark, Upper Canada (now Ontario), to James Mair, a general merchandiser, and Margaret. Charles worked in the family timber business and lived in the same community the first thirty years of his life. He attended primary school at Perth Grammar School and would take classes at the University of Kensington. Later, he was awarded an honorary LL.D.
Mair worked for the Canada First movement for a year and as a Red River settlement paymaster two years following. He married Elizabeth Louise MacKenny and raised five daughters and a son. Around the age of thirty he worked as a storekeeper, first in Portage la Prairie and then in Prince Albert for over a decade. He became quartermaster for the governor general’s bodyguard during the Riel Rebellion; then he worked in the Federal Immigrations Service and on various government commissions involved with land negotiations with the Native Canadians. During his entire career he wrote poetry and dramas.
Mair’s writings were first published as poems and essays about nature in the Montreal Transcript and British American Magazine. His first book, a collection of his poetry titled Dreamland, and Other Poems, was published during a pivotal year in his life, 1868—the year he left the wilderness home of his youth, married, and started a new career. It was also in this year that he became one of the founding members of the Canada First Party, a role motivated by his interest in the Northwest Territories assignment. He encountered William McDougall, an influential Hudson Bay Company contact who became the first lieutenant-governor of the Territories. McDougall sent Mair to the Red River to write positive material that would draw settlers to the region. As a result, Mair was in the territory during the native Metis revolt, in part due to inflamed relationships from such promotional writing. Mair was taken captive by one of the leaders, Louis Riel (known as the leader of the Riel Rebellion), and had his life threatened for opposing the rebellion. He escaped and raised a counterattack to Riel but stayed behind to become a married man.
Mair worked and invested well in order to move to Windsor and devote himself to writing full time. He continued in his government career and produced several more works before his death at the age of eighty-eight.