January 11 is Sir John A. Macdonald Day, Canada’s first Prime Minister; he served from July 1, 1867, to November 5, 1873, and was re-elected for a second term on October 17, 1878, that lasted until his death on June 6, 1891.

According to the MP for Miramichi, Tilly O’Neill Gordon, “Sir John A. was a trailblazer in Canadian political life, and I think it is important to mark this day in his honour.”

The Old Chieftain’s powerful definition of the nation speaks across the centuries: "Let us be English, or let us be French, but let us always be loyal, and above all, let us be Canadians."

“We have to acknowledge everything he did to unify our country,” Ms O’Neill Gordon said.  “His achievements matters to all Canadians, especially for the people in the riding of Miramichi who live with this linguistic duality.”

Sir John A.’s face appears on the Canadian $10 bill, and his name on bridges, airports, highways (the Macdonald-Cartier Freeway in Ontario combines his name with that of another Father of Confederation, George-Étienne Cartier) and a lot of schools across the country.

“Macdonald left us an imposing political legacy, and all these infrastructures throughout Canada that bear his name are evidence of it,” the MP said.