View source for Lincoln Alexander

{{Short description|Canadian lawyer and politician (1922–2012)}}
{{distinguish|Alexander of Lincoln}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[The Honourable]]
| name             = Lincoln Alexander 
| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|CC|OOnt|CD|QC|size=100%}}
| image            = Lincoln Alexander.jpg
| caption          = Alexander in 2005
| order            = 24th
| office           = Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
| term_start       = September 20, 1985
| term_end         = December 10, 1991
| monarch          = [[Elizabeth II]]
| governor_general = [[Jeanne Sauvé]]<br />[[Ray Hnatyshyn]]
| premier          = [[David Peterson]]<br />[[Bob Rae]]
| predecessor      = [[John Black Aird]]
| successor        = [[Hal Jackman]]
| constituency     = 
| majority         = 
| office2          = [[Minister of Labour (Canada)|Minister of Labour]]
| term_start2      = June 4, 1979
| term_end2        = March 2, 1980
| primeminister2   = [[Joe Clark]]
| predecessor2     = [[Martin O'Connell (politician)|Martin O'Connell]]
| successor2       = [[Gerald Regan]]
| riding3          = [[Hamilton West (federal electoral district)|Hamilton West]]
| parliament3      = Canadian
| term_start3      = June 25, 1968
| term_end3        = May 28, 1980
| predecessor3     = [[Joseph Macaluso]]
| successor3       = [[Stanley Hudecki]]
| birth_name       = Lincoln MacCauley Alexander
| birth_date       = {{Birth date|1922|1|21}}
| birth_place      = [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]], Canada
| death_date       = {{nowrap|{{death date and age|2012|10|19|1922|1|21}}}}
| death_place      = [[Hamilton, Ontario]], Canada
| party            = [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservative]]
|alma_mater        = [[McMaster University]] <br /> [[York University]], [[Osgoode Hall Law School]]
| spouse           = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Yvonne Harrison|1948|1999|end=died}}
* {{marriage|Marni Beal|2011}}
}}
| children         = Keith Lincoln Alexander
| occupation       = {{hlist|Barrister|solicitor}}
| allegiance       = {{flag|Canada|1921}}
| branch           = [[Royal Canadian Air Force]]
| serviceyears     = 1942–45
| rank             = [[Corporal]]
| battles          = [[World War II]]
}}

'''Lincoln MacCauley Alexander''' {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|CC|OOnt|CD|QC}} (January 21, 1922 – October 19, 2012) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who became the first [[Black Canadian]] to be a [[Member of Parliament (Canada)|member of Parliament]] in the [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]], a federal Cabinet Minister (as federal [[Minister of Labour (Canada)|Minister of Labour]]), a Chair of the [[Workplace Safety & Insurance Board|Worker's Compensation Board of Ontario]], and the [[List of lieutenant governors of Ontario#Lieutenant Governors of Ontario, 1867-present|24th]] [[Lieutenant Governor of Ontario]] from 1985 to 1991. Alexander was also a governor of the [[Canadian Unity Council]].

Alexander was born in [[Toronto]] to Caribbean immigrant parents. After service during [[World War II]], he received a [[Bachelor of Arts]] from [[McMaster University]] in 1949 before earning his law degree from [[Osgoode Hall Law School]] in 1953. A member of the [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada]], he became the first black Member of Parliament in Canadian history after being elected to the House of Commons in the [[1968 Canadian federal election]]. He was named Minister of Labour in 1979 under prime minister [[Joe Clark]], holding the position until the PC party's defeat in the [[1980 Canadian federal election|1980 election]]. He resigned from the House of Commons later that year and became Chair of the [[Workplace Safety & Insurance Board|Worker's Compensation Board of Ontario]].

In 1985, he was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, holding the position until 1991. From 1991 to 2007, he became Chancellor of the [[University of Guelph]], becoming the first person to serve five terms in that capacity.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uoguelph.ca/news/2012/02/david_mirvish_n.html| title=David Mirvish Named Eighth U of G Chancellor|access-date=May 18, 2017}}</ref> He died in 2012 and was accorded a state funeral. Ryerson University (now [[Toronto Metropolitan University]])'s faculty of law was renamed in his honour in 2021.

==Early life and education==
Alexander was born on January 21, 1922, in a row house on [[Draper Street (Toronto)|Draper Street]]<ref>{{cite news|last=White|first=Madeleine|title=Home of the Week: Refurbished, repaired, renewed |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/home-and-garden/real-estate/home-of-the-week-refurbished-repaired-renewed/article14120383/ |publisher=The Globe and Mail|access-date=May 28, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023155416/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/home-and-garden/real-estate/home-of-the-week-refurbished-repaired-renewed/article14120383 |archive-date=October 23, 2015}}</ref> near Front Street and Spadina Avenue in [[Toronto|Toronto, Ontario]].<ref name="globeobit"/> He was the eldest son of Mae Rose (née Royale), who immigrated from [[Jamaica]], and Lincoln McCauley Alexander Sr., a carpenter by trade<ref name="Star Obit"/> who worked as a [[porter (railroad)|porter]] on the [[Canadian Pacific Railway]], who had come to Canada from [[St. Vincent and the Grenadines]].<ref name="specobit">{{cite news|url=http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/820977--a-life-well-lived-linc-exits-the-stage-at-90|title=A life well lived: Linc exits the stage at 90|last=Wells|first=John|date=October 20, 2012|work=The Hamilton Spectator|access-date=October 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023155615/http://www.thespec.com/news-story/2158445-a-life-well-lived-linc-exits-the-stage-at-90|archive-date=October 23, 2015}}</ref> Lincoln had a younger brother Hughie, born in 1924, and an older half-brother Ridley "Bunny" Wright, born to his mother in 1920 prior to her marriage to his father.<ref name="globeobit"/>

Alexander went to [[Earl Grey Public School]] where he was the only Black child in his kindergarten class. He noted in his memoir that he "never raced home from school and cried" but earned the respect of his classmates, sometimes by fighting. This taught him "to always walk tall, and with a certain bearing, so people knew I meant business".<ref name="globeobit"/> In his 2006 memoir, ''Go to School, You're a Little Black Boy'', Alexander recalled: "Blacks at that time made up a sliver-thin portion of the city's population, and racial prejudice abounded." When the family moved to the east end of Toronto, and he attended [[Riverdale Collegiate]], Alexander knew only three Black families. "The scene in Toronto at that time wasn't violent, though you had to know your place and govern yourself accordingly."<ref name="globeobit"/>

His family was religious and enjoyed a social life centred on regularly attending a Baptist church in downtown Toronto. His father was a stern disciplinarian who wanted his son to play the piano. Alexander preferred various sports, including track, soccer, hockey, softball, and boxing; he never learned to swim. His size made him uncoordinated so he was not a natural athlete.<ref name="globeobit"/>

As a teen Alexander's mother moved to [[Harlem]] with his half-brother Ridley after his father beat her violently. Lincoln and his brother Hughie were cared for by Sadie and Rupert Downes until his mother could send for one of them. She chose Lincoln; Hughie remained with the Downes family and the brothers grew apart.{{citation needed|date=May 2017}}

In New York he attended [[DeWitt Clinton High School]], the only member of his family to do so. He recalled in his memoir, "[G]iven the message about education that had been pounded into my head since I was a young child, the fact those kids didn’t go to school was an eye-opener for me." As a black community, Harlem allowed him to find role models who worked at jobs that did not involve manual labour.<ref name="globeobit"/>

===Second World War===
In 1939, after Canada declared war on Germany, his mother sent him back to Toronto to live with his father. Lincoln met Yvonne (Tody) Harrison at a dance in Toronto. The youngest of four daughters of Robert, a railway porter, and his wife Edythe (née Lewis), Harrison lived in [[Hamilton, Ontario]]. Alexander was smitten by her and resolved to marry her. Because he was too young to enlist in the armed forces, he took a job as a machinist making anti-aircraft guns at a factory in Hamilton to be close to her.<ref name="globeobit"/>

He first distinguished himself in service to [[Canada]] in 1942 as a corporal and wireless operator in the [[Royal Canadian Air Force]] during the [[World War II|Second World War]]. He served in many parts of the country including [[Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie|Portage La Prairie]]. He was ineligible for combat duty because of poor eyesight.<ref name="globeobit"/><ref name="CELA"/><ref name="GovOnLa">{{cite web |title=The Honourable Lincoln Alexander |url=http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/explore/online/alexander/index.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023160409/http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/explore/online/alexander/index.aspx |archive-date=October 23, 2015 |access-date=October 22, 2015 |website=archives.gov.on.ca |publisher=Queen's Printer}}</ref>

While stationed in Vancouver, he was refused service at a bar because of his race. He reported the incident to a superior officer who refused to take action.  Alexander quit the Air Force in 1945 and was granted an honourable discharge. Of that incident, he said: "[A]t that time they didn't know how to deal with race relations of this sort of thing; they just turned a blind eye to it."<ref name="GovOnLa"/>

===Post-secondary schooling and legal career===
After the war Alexander completed his studies at Hamilton's Central Collegiate and then entered [[McMaster University]] in 1946 to study economics and history, receiving a [[Bachelor of Arts|BA]] in 1949.<ref name=globeobit>{{cite news|last=Martin|first=Sandra|title=Obituary: Former lieutenant-governor took discrimination as personal challenge|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/obituary-former-lieutenant-governor-took-discrimination-as-personal-challenge/article4623578/?page=all|access-date=October 27, 2012|newspaper=Globe and Mail|date=October 19, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023161925/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/obituary-former-lieutenant-governor-took-discrimination-as-personal-challenge/article4623578/?page=all|archive-date=October 23, 2015}}</ref><ref name="CELA"/>

At age 25, on September 10, 1948, he married Yvonne "Tody" Harrison, five years his senior. Upon graduating in 1949, he applied for a sales job at [[Stelco]], a steel plant in Hamilton, Ontario. Although he had references, the support of McMaster and the mayor of Hamilton, Stelco was unwilling to have a black man on its sales force. He declined their offer of his old summer job working in the plant.<ref name="globeobit"/>

In 1948, Alexander's mother died at age 49, suffering from dementia; his father committed suicide four years later.<ref name="Star Obit"/> He married his first wife, Yvonne Harrison, in 1948;<ref name="Star Obit"/> their only child, a son Keith, was born in 1949.<ref name="globeobit"/> In 1986, Alexander said in a ''Chatelaine'' magazine interview: "My mother was the single biggest influence on me–before my wife, I’ve always regretted that she didn’t live to see me graduate from university."<ref name=globeobit/>

Alexander then attended [[Osgoode Hall Law School]] in Toronto. While there, he suggested to the Dean during a lecture that he was using inappropriate language: "looking for a nigger in a woodpile".<ref name="Star Obit"/> Challenging the Dean he said: "But you can't say that because you have to show leadership. You're in a position of authority, a leader in the community. A leader has to lead and not be using such disrespectful comments without even thinking about them."<ref name="globeobit"/> Of the incident he recalled: "I don't know whatever made me stand up and ask him that in a class of 200 people.&nbsp;... But I will tell you one thing, that day made me a man."<ref name=" GovOnLa"/> His actions did not end his career as he feared and Alexander graduated from Osgoode Hall in 1953.<ref name="Star Obit"/>

After [[Articled clerk|articling]] for Sam Gottfried, the only job offer he received was from Helen and Ted Okuloski, a brother and sister who had started their own practice in Hamilton when they were unable to find jobs with existing firms. Here he practiced real estate and commercial law and established a political base in the German and Polish communities in Hamilton. Two years later Alexander partnered with Dave Duncan, forming the firm Duncan & Alexander, which he claimed was the first inter-racial law partnership in Canada.<ref name="globeobit"/><ref name="Star Obit"/> Alexander bought his own home on Proctor Blvd in the east end of Hamilton in 1958 and was able to move his family out of his in-laws' house. He lived there for nearly four decades.<ref name="globeobit"/>

In 1960, he and his wife visited twenty-three countries in Africa as volunteers with [[Operation Crossroads Africa]], a trip he said that made him realize: "In Africa, I was a black man and I was somebody."<ref name="Star Obit"/> Alexander wrote in his memoir:

<blockquote>The experience was an eye-opener for me not only as a lawyer but also as a human being because I began to realize what black people could do. I saw that, unlike the Hollywood version, these Africans were men and women of significant talents. I became conscious of my blackness. I had come from a white world. Now we were in Africa, and I realized we are people of skill and creativity. I was a black man and I was a somebody. I started standing tall.<ref name="globeobit"/></blockquote>

In 1962, Alexander's partnership with Duncan was dissolved. He joined former McMaster classmate Jack Millar in the firm Millar, Alexander, Tokiwa and Isaacs, which eventually became known as "the United Nations law firm". In his memoir, Alexander recalls: "A Caucasian, a black, Japanese and a Native Canadian. We were white, black, yellow and red, we used to laugh." He has appointed [[Queen's Counsel]] in 1965.<ref name="CELA">{{cite web|title=Lincoln Alexander|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/lincoln-maccauley-alexander|website=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]]|publisher=[[Historica Canada]]|access-date=September 1, 2019}}</ref>

==Politics==
In 1965, Alexander ran in the Canadian [[1965 Canadian federal election|federal election]] as the [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada]] candidate in the [[Hamilton West (federal electoral district)|Hamilton West]] [[electoral district]] but was defeated.<ref name="CELA"/> He ran again in the [[1968 Canadian federal election|1968 federal election]] and on June 25, 1968, he won the seat, becoming Canada's first [[Black Canadians|black]] [[Member of Parliament (Canada)|Member of Parliament]].<ref name="CELA"/>

On September 20, 1968, he made his maiden speech in the House of Commons saying:<blockquote>"I am not the spokesman for the Negro; that honour has not been given to me. Do not let me ever give anyone that impression. However, I want the record to show that I accept the responsibility of speaking for him and all others in this great nation who feel that they are the subjects of discrimination because of race, creed or colour"<ref name="globeobit"/></blockquote>

In 1970, Alexander voted in favour of the ''[[October Crisis|War Measures Act]]'' invoked by then Prime Minister [[Pierre Trudeau]] but later felt he had erred in this decision, saying: "[T]he issue of limiting rights has far more serious implications than I thought at the time. You become vulnerable, grasped by the tentacles of Government power."<ref name="School">{{cite book|title=Go to School, You're a Little Black Boy|url=https://archive.org/details/gotoschoolyourel0000alex|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/gotoschoolyourel0000alex/page/118 118]|via=Internet Archive|date=4 November 2006|publisher=Dundurn|isbn=9781550026634|access-date=October 25, 2015}}{{dead link|date=February 2018|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> In 1976, he voted to abolish [[capital punishment]] in a [[Conscience vote|free vote]] introduced by the governing [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal party]].<ref name="globeobit"/>

Alexander wrote in his memoir that he did not shy away from voting with the Liberal government if an issue warranted his support. As an example, he threatened to break ranks with his own party to vote in favour of anti-hate legislation, saying "screw you" to his party's argument that it would curtail freedom of speech. "Are you saying that you can call my son or daughter a nigger and that is free speech?" he asked during debate on the bill. [[Heath MacQuarrie]], then a Tory MP from Prince Edward Island, stood up and said, "I'm not going to let Linc stand alone on this." Together they led 17 members of their caucus in support of the government's legislation.<ref name="School"/>

It was Alexander and Newfoundland MP [[John Lundrigan]] who provoked Trudeau into mouthing an obscenity in the House of Commons during a discussion of training programs for the unemployed in February 1971. This quickly became known as the "[[fuddle duddle]]" incident.<ref name="School"/>

Alexander was an observer to the [[United Nations]] in 1976 and 1978 and served briefly as [[Minister of Labour (Canada)|Minister of Labour]] in the [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservative Party]]'s [[minority government]] headed by [[Joe Clark]] from 1979 to 1980.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Branch|first=Legislative Services|date=2014-12-09|title=Consolidated federal laws of canada, Lincoln Alexander Day Act|url=https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/L-8.5/FullText.html|access-date=2022-01-19|website=laws-lois.justice.gc.ca}}</ref>

He held the seat through four successive elections until resigning his seat on May 27, 1980, when he was asked by then Premier of Ontario [[Bill Davis]] to serve as chairman of the Ontario Worker's Compensation Board.<ref name="Star Obit">{{cite news|last=Wells|first=Jon|title=Lincoln Alexander dies at 90|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1274101--lincoln-alexander-dies-at-90|date=October 20, 2012|newspaper=Toronto Star|access-date=October 21, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023180952/http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2012/10/20/lincoln_alexander_dies_at_90.html|archive-date=23 October 2015}}</ref><ref name="CELA"/> He misunderstood Davis's request and recalled: "I said [to the Premier], 'do you think this is going to give you the black vote around here, the vote of the visible minority&nbsp;...?' I will never forget his look; he was extremely angry. I shouldn't have said that."<ref name="GovOnLa"/>

==Viceregal service==
[[File:Queen Mum Flame July 7 1989.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Alexander with [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother]] at the unveiling of the Flame of Hope at [[Banting House]], July 1989.]]
[[File:Order Of Ontario given to Lincoln Alexander.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Order Of Ontario given to Lincoln Alexander]]
In 1985, on the advice of Prime Minister [[Brian Mulroney]], [[Governor General of Canada|Governor General]] [[Jeanne Sauvé]] appointed Alexander Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. He became the first black person to serve in a viceregal position in Canada. ([[James Douglas (governor)|James Douglas]], who was of mixed descent, was Governor of [[Vancouver Island]] and of [[British Columbia]] prior to [[Canadian Confederation]] when these were British colonies with no connection to [[the Canadas]].)

During his appointment, he focused attention on multicultural issues and education, racism, and youth issues.<ref name=globeobit/><ref name="CELA"/> As [[viceroy]] he visited 672 communities, held 675 receptions, received roughly 75,000 guests, attended 4,000 engagements, and visited 230 schools.<ref name="Star Obit"/>

==Later life==

Alexander served as Chair of the Workers Compensation Board of Ontario from 1980 to 1985. The organization underwent its most extensive legislative overhaul since 1915 during his tenure. Also during his tenure, the WCBO sanctioned the use of chiropractors, over the objections of doctors, and created an independent appeals tribunal.<ref name="globeobit"/>

In 1992, Alexander was appointed to the [[Order of Ontario]] and became a Companion of the [[Order of Canada]]. From 1991 to 2007, he served as [[Chancellor (education)|Chancellor]] of the [[University of Guelph]]. His fifteen-year term as Chancellor exceeded that of any of his predecessors, and he assumed the office of Chancellor Emeritus in June 2007. He was succeeded as Chancellor by then broadcaster [[Pamela Wallin]].<ref name="globeobit"/><ref name="Star Obit"/>

In 2000, Alexander was named Chair of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, where he remained an active spokesman on race relations and veterans' issues.<ref name="GovOnLa"/> Until the time of his death, he was the Honorary Patron of the [[Hamilton, Ontario]], branch of [[St. John Ambulance]],<ref>{{cite web|title=News for Members of SJA|url=http://myemail.constantcontact.com/News-for-Members-of-SJA-Ontario.html?soid=1102861874064&aid=-OFVbVCg6_E|website=myemail.constancontact.com|publisher=St. John Ambulance|access-date=October 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023163416/http://myemail.constantcontact.com/News-for-Members-of-SJA-Ontario.html?soid=1102861874064&aid=-OFVbVCg6_E|archive-date=October 23, 2015}}</ref> as well as Honorary Chief of the [[Hamilton Police Service]] and Honorary Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police.<ref name="Star Obit"/>
[[File:Lincoln Alexander with police horses at the Royal Winter Fair.jpg|thumb|Alexander with police horses at the 2005 [[Royal Winter Agriculture Fair]]]]
In November 2006, his autobiography ''Go to School, You're a Little Black Boy: The Honourable Lincoln M. Alexander: A Memoir'' was published.<ref name="School"/><ref>{{cite book|last1=Alexander|first1=Lincoln|last2=Shoveller|first2=Herb|title=Go to School, You're a Little Black Boy|url=http://www.dundurn.com/books/go_school_youre_little_black_boy|year=2006|publisher=Dundurn|place=Toronto|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023181606/https://www.dundurn.com/books/go-school-youre-little-black-boy|archive-date=October 23, 2015}}</ref> The title reflects advice his mother had given him as a boy.

==Death==
[[File:Hamilton Police Honour Guard (8127326451).jpg|thumb|Hamilton Police Service guard of honour carrying Alexander's casket during his state funeral.]]
Alexander died in his sleep on the morning of October 19, 2012, aged 90.<ref name=CBC>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/headlines/lincoln-alexander-canada-s-1st-black-mp-dies-1.1180603|title=Lincoln Alexander, Canada's 1st black MP, dies|author=CBC News|publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]]|access-date=October 19, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023181833/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/news/lincoln-alexander-canada-s-1st-black-mp-dies-1.1180603|archive-date=October 23, 2015}}</ref> The national and provincial flags outside the [[Ontario Legislative Building]] were flown at [[half-mast]] and tributes were given by various viceroys and politicians.<ref name=CBC/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1274101--lincoln-alexander-dies-at-90|title=Lincoln Alexander dies at 90|newspaper=Toronto Star|first=Maria|last=Babbage|access-date=October 19, 2012|agency=Canadian Press|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023182353/http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2012/10/20/lincoln_alexander_dies_at_90.html|archive-date=October 23, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/article/canadas-first-black-mp-lincoln-alexander-dies-at-90/|title=Canada's first black MP, Lincoln Alexander, dies at 90|publisher=CTV News|access-date=October 19, 2012|agency=Canadian Press|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023182551/http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/canada-s-first-black-mp-lincoln-alexander-dies-at-90-1.1002231|archive-date=October 23, 2015}}</ref>

His body [[Lying in state|lay in state]], first inside the Ontario Legislative Building at [[Queen's Park (Toronto)|Queen's Park]], then at [[Hamilton City Hall]].<ref name=CBC/><ref>{{cite news|last=Associated Press|first=WP|title=State funeral planned for Lincoln Alexander, Canada's first black member of Parliament |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/state-funeral-planned-for-lincoln-alexander-canadas-first-black-member-of-parliament/2012/10/20/6fad91d6-1b12-11e2-ad4a-e5a958b60a1e_story.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021222243/http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/state-funeral-planned-for-lincoln-alexander-canadas-first-black-member-of-parliament/2012/10/20/6fad91d6-1b12-11e2-ad4a-e5a958b60a1e_story.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 21, 2012|access-date=October 22, 2012|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref>

He was survived by his son Keith Lincoln Alexander from his marriage to his first wife Yvonne Harrison (died 1999). He was also survived by daughter-in-law Joyce Alexander and grandchildren Erika and Marissa Alexander, and his second wife Marni Beal whom he married in 2011.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/headlines/erika-alexander-remembers-her-grandfather-lincoln-1.1160456|title=Erika Alexander remembers her grandfather Lincoln|publisher=[[CBC.ca]]|access-date=October 26, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023183315/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/news/erika-alexander-remembers-her-grandfather-lincoln-1.1160456|archive-date=October 23, 2015}}</ref>

Alexander was accorded an Ontario [[state funerals in Canada|state funeral]] conducted by the Reverend Allison Barrett. With the co-operation of thousands of officials, both Provincial and Federal, and Police Services across Canada, and featuring the Burlington Teen Tour Band and, Police Pipe and Drum band, it was conducted at [[Hamilton Place Theatre|Hamilton Place]] and attended by 1,500 people. Those in attendance included then-Prime Minister [[Stephen Harper]], former Ontario Premier [[Dalton McGuinty]], then-Ontario Premier [[Kathleen Wynne]], Governor General [[David Johnston (governor general)|David Johnston]], former Governor General [[Michaëlle Jean]], former Prime Minister [[Joe Clark]], federal cabinet minister [[Julian Fantino]], Dr. [[Alastair Summerlee]], President of the University of Guelph, and Dr. Peter George, former President of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Also in attendance were the chairman of the Raptors Foundation and the publisher of the Hamilton newspaper, ''The Spectator''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Humphrys|first=Adrian|title=State funeral honours former Ontario lieutenant governor Lincoln Alexander's 'life of firsts'|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/state-funeral-honours-former-ontario-lieutenant-governor-lincoln-alexanders-life-of-firsts|access-date=October 26, 2012|newspaper=National Post|date=October 27, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Coyle|first=Jim|title=Lincoln Alexander: Hundreds line streets for state funeral|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1278060--lincoln-alexander-hundreds-line-streets-for-state-funeral|access-date=May 18, 2017|newspaper=Toronto Star|date=October 27, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023183637/http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2012/10/26/lincoln_alexander_hundreds_line_streets_for_state_funeral.html|archive-date=October 23, 2015}}</ref>

==Legacy==
In December 2013 the legislature of Ontario proclaimed January 21 "Lincoln Alexander Day" in the province. In December 2014 Parliament passed a law designating January 21 "Lincoln Alexander Day" across Canada,<ref>{{cite web|title=Lincoln Alexander Day|url=http://blackhistoryottawa.weebly.com/lincoln-alexander-day.html|website=blackhistoryottawa.weebly.com|publisher=Black History Ottawa|access-date=October 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023183852/http://blackhistoryottawa.weebly.com/lincoln-alexander-day.html|archive-date=October 23, 2015}}</ref> which was observed for the first time in 2015.<ref name="CELA"/>

In 2018, [[Canada Post]] marked [[Black History Month]] with stamps featuring Alexander and [[Kay Livingstone]].<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.canadapost.ca/web/en/blogs/announcements/details.page?article=2018/01/26/2018_black_history_m&cattype=announcements&cat=newsreleases| title=2018 Black History Month stamps celebrate trailblazers Lincoln M. Alexander and Kathleen (Kay) Livingstone| date=January 26, 2018| publisher=Canada Post}}</ref>

[[Lincoln Alexander Public School (disambiguation)|Several schools]] have been named in his honor.

The [[Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway]] municipal expressway in Hamilton, Ontario, was named in his honour.

On May 6, 2021, [[Toronto Metropolitan University|Ryerson University]]'s faculty of law was renamed the Lincoln Alexander School of Law in his honour.<ref>{{Cite news|date=7 April 2021|title=Ryerson University renaming its law school after Lincoln Alexander|work=CBC News|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/lincoln-alexander-ryerson-law-school-renaming-1.5977918}}</ref>

==Honours==
{{Infobox viceroy styles
| image    = [[File:Badge of the Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario.svg|50px]]
| name     = Lincoln MacCauley Alexander<br />(1985–1991)
| dipstyle = His Honour the Honourable
| offstyle = Your Honour
}}

'''Appointments'''<ref name="Star Obit"/>
* {{flagicon|Canada}} 1965 – October 19, 2012: [[Queen's Counsel]] (QC)  <ref name="lso.ca">{{Cite web|url=https://lso.ca/about-lso/medals,-awards-and-honours/law-society-awards/the-lincoln-alexander-award|title=The Lincoln Alexander Award &#124; Law Society of Ontario|accessdate=28 April 2024}}</ref>
* {{flagicon|Canada}} June 4, 1979 – October 19, 2012: Member of the [[Queen's Privy Council for Canada]] (PC)
* {{flagicon|Canada}} 1985 – October 19, 2012: [[Venerable Order of St. John|Knight of the Order of St. John]] (KStJ)
* {{flagicon|Canada}} April 30, 1992 – October 19, 2012: Companion of the [[Order of Canada]] (CC)<ref>{{Canadian honour|Type=orc|ID=2995|accessdate=May 24, 2010}}</ref>
* {{flagicon|Ontario}} 1992–2012: Member of the [[Order of Ontario]] (O.Ont)
* {{flagicon|Ontario}} 1992– October 19, 2012: [[Bencher|Honorary Bencher]] of the [[Law Society of Upper Canada]]  <ref name="lso.ca"/>

The Lincoln Alexander Day (across Canada) act passed into law December 3, 2014.

'''Medals'''<ref>{{cite web|title=Tribute to Cpl Lincoln MacCauley Alexander|url=http://www.honourthem.ca/masterDetail.cfm?ID=117750|website=honourthem.ca|publisher=Honour Them|access-date=23 October 2015}}</ref>

* {{flagicon|Canada}}: [[Canadian Volunteer Service Medal]]
* {{flagicon|Canada}}: [[War Medal 1939–1945]]
* {{flagicon|Canada}}: [[Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal]] (1977)
* {{flagicon|Canada}}: [[125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal]] (1992)
* {{flagicon|Canada}}: [[Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal]] (2002)
* {{flagicon|Canada}}: [[Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal]] (2012)
* {{flagicon|Canada}}: [[Canadian Forces' Decoration]] (CD) 1994

{| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0"  style="margin:auto; margin:1em 1em 1em 0; background:white; border:1px #0047ab solid; border-collapse:collapse;"
|- style="background:white;"
! colspan="4" style="text-align:center;"|<span style="color:black;">Ribbon bars of Lincoln Alexander</span> 
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|ribbon=Order of Canada (CC) ribbon bar.svg}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|ribbon=Order of St John (UK) ribbon -vector.svg}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|ribbon=Order Ontario ribbon bar.svg}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|ribbon=Canadian Volunteer Service Medal BAR.svg}}
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|ribbon=War Medal 39-45 BAR.svg}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|ribbon=UK Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|ribbon=Canada125 ribbon.png}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|ribbon=UK Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg}}
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|ribbon=QEII Diamond Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|ribbon=CAN Canadian Forces Decoration ribbon.svg}}
|
|
|}

===Honorary military appointments===
* {{flagicon|CAN|air force}} '''November 1985{{spaced ndash}}December 1996''': [[Colonel (title)|Honorary Colonel]] of 2 Tactical Aviation Wing [[Royal Canadian Air Force]]  <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/maple-leaf.html/2019/02/24384.html|title=The Maple Leaf|first=National|last=Defence|date=September 16, 2020|website=aem}}</ref>

===Halls of fame===
*[[Canadian Disability Hall of Fame]], 1998<ref>{{cite web |title=Previous Hall of Fame Inductees |url=https://www.cfpdp.com/previous-hall-of-fame-inductees/ |website=The Canadian Foundation for Physically Disabled Persons |access-date=19 October 2022}}</ref>

===Scholastic===

; Chancellor, visitor, governor, rector and fellowships
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:20%;"| Location
! style="width:20%;"| Date
! style="width:40%;"| School
! style="width:20%;"| Position
|-
| {{Flagu|Ontario}} || '''1991{{spaced ndash}}2007''' || [[University of Guelph]] || [[Chancellor (education)|Chancellor]]
|-
| {{Flagu|Ontario}} || '''1989{{spaced ndash}}19 October 2012''' || [[Renison University College]] at the [[University of Waterloo]] || Honorary Senior Fellow  <ref>{{cite web |url=https://uwaterloo.ca/renison/honorary-senior-fellows-renison-university-college |title=Honorary Senior Fellows of Renison University College &#124; Renison University College &#124; University of Waterloo |website=uwaterloo.ca |access-date=11 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430204858/https://uwaterloo.ca/renison/honorary-senior-fellows-renison-university-college |archive-date=30 April 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
|}

{{Incomplete list|date=September 2020}}

===Honorary degrees===

Alexander received [[honorary degree]]s from numerous universities, including:

;Honorary degrees

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:20%;"| Location
! style="width:20%;"| Date
! style="width:40%;"| School
! style="width:20%;"| Degree
! style="width:20%;"| Gave Commencement Address
|-
| {{Flagu|Ontario}} || '''1986''' || [[University of Toronto]] || [[Doctor of Laws]] (LL.D) <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.governingcouncil.utoronto.ca/Assets/Governing+Council+Digital+Assets/Boards+and+Committees/Committee+for+Honorary+Degrees/degreerecipients1850tillnow.pdf |title=Honorary Degree Recipients 1850–2016, Sorted by Date of Degree Conferral |publisher=University of Toronto |date=2016 |access-date=2017-05-19}}</ref> || 
|-
| {{Flagu|Ontario}} || '''1987''' || [[McMaster University]] || [[Doctor of Laws]] (LL.D) <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mcmaster.ca/univsec/reports_lists/S_HD_Recipients.pdf |title=Honorary Degree Recipients (Chronological), 1892–Present |publisher=McMaster University |date=March 31, 2017 |access-date=2017-05-19}}</ref> || 
|-
| {{Flagu|Ontario}} || '''28 October 1988''' || [[University of Western Ontario]] || [[Doctor of Laws]] (LL.D) <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/senate/honorary/honorary_degrees_by_year.pdf |title=Honorary Degrees Awarded, 1881–present |publisher=The University of Western Ontario |access-date=2017-05-19}}</ref> || 
|-
| {{Flagu|Ontario}} || '''Fall 1990''' || [[York University]] || [[Doctor of Laws]] (LL.D) <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://secretariat.info.yorku.ca/senate/sub-committee-on-honorary-degrees-and-ceremonials/honorary-degree-recipients/|title=Honorary Degree Recipients &#124; University Secretariat|website=secretariat.info.yorku.ca}}</ref> || 
|-
| {{Flagu|Ontario}} || '''17 May 1991''' || [[Royal Military College of Canada]] || [[Doctor of Laws]] (LL.D) <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rmc-cmr.ca/en/royal-military-college-canada-honorary-degree-recipients|title=Royal Military College of Canada Honorary Degree Recipients|first=Pete|last=Bennett|date=July 19, 2016|website=www.rmc-cmr.ca}}</ref> || No 
|-
| {{Flagu|Ontario}} || '''1992''' || [[Queen's University at Kingston|Queen's University]] || [[Doctor of Laws]] (LL.D) <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.queensu.ca/registrar/graduation/history|title=The History of Queen's Graduation &#124; Registrar & Financial Aid Services|website=www.queensu.ca|accessdate=28 April 2024}}</ref> || 
|-
|}

{{Incomplete list|date=September 2020}}

'''Other honours'''
* {{flagicon|Ontario}} 2002: Law Society Medal of the [[Law Society of Upper Canada]]  <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lso.ca/about-lso/medals-awards-and-honours/law-society-awards/the-law-society-medal/list-of-all-law-society-medal-recipients|title=List of All Law Society Medal Recipients &#124; Law Society of Ontario|accessdate=28 April 2024}}</ref>

===Honorific eponyms===

'''Awards'''

* {{flagicon|Ontario}} Ontario: [[Lincoln M. Alexander Award]]<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.citizenship.gov.on.ca/english/citizenship/honours/lma.shtml| title=Lincoln M. Alexander Award|publisher=Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration|access-date=October 20, 2012}}</ref>

'''Roads, highways, and bridges'''

* {{flagicon|Ontario}} Ontario: [[Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway]], [[Hamilton, Ontario|Hamilton]]<ref name="Star Obit"/>

'''Schools'''

* {{flagicon|Ontario}} Ontario: [[Lincoln Alexander Public School (Ajax, Ontario)|Lincoln Alexander Public School]], [[Ajax, Ontario|Ajax]]<ref name="Star Obit"/>
* {{flagicon|Ontario}} Ontario: [[Lincoln Alexander Public School (Hamilton, Ontario)|Lincoln Alexander Public School]], [[Hamilton, Ontario|Hamilton]]<ref name="Star Obit"/>
* {{flagicon|Ontario}} Ontario: [[Lincoln Alexander Public School (Markham, Ontario)|Lincoln Alexander Public School]], [[Markham, Ontario|Markham]]
* {{flagicon|Ontario}} Ontario: [[Lincoln M. Alexander Secondary School]], [[Mississauga]]<ref name="Star Obit"/>
* {{flagicon|Ontario}} Ontario: Lincoln Alexander School of Law, [[Toronto Metropolitan University]]
* {{flagicon|Ontario}} Ontario: Alexander Hall, [[University of Guelph]]

'''Others'''

* {{flagicon|Ontario}} Ontario:  876 Lincoln Alexander Royal Canadian Air Cadets Squadron
* {{flagicon|Ontario}} Ontario: Lincoln M. Alexander Building, 777 Memorial Ave, [[Orillia]], [[Ontario Provincial Police|OPP]] headquarters

===Arms===
{{Infobox COA wide
|image = Lincoln Alexander Arms.svg
|bannerimage =
|badgeimage =
|notes = The arms of Lincoln Alexander consist of:<ref>{{citation|title=Canadian Heraldic Authority (Volume II)|year=1992}}</ref>
|adopted =
|crest = Above a helmet mantled Azure doubled Argent on a wreath Argent and Azure a demi-lion Azure wearing a coronet rimmed Or heightened with trillium flowers Argent seeded Or and charged on the shoulder with a mullet Argent holding in the dexter forepaw scales of justice Or.
|torse =
|helm =
|escutcheon = Argent above two bars wavy Azure in base a lion rampant Sable armed and langued Azure charged on the shoulder with a trillium flower Argent seeded Or.
|supporters = Dexter a lion Sable armed and langued Azure semé of trillium flowers Argent seeded Or winged Bleu Celeste gorged with a collar Argent charged with palm fronds Vert sinister a bear Sable armed and langued Azure winged Bleu Celeste, gorged with a collar Argent pendant therefrom a pomme bordered Argent displaying the badge of the House of Commons of Canada proper.
|compartment = A grassy mound Vert strewn with palm fronds and breadfruit leaves Or rising above water Azure crested Argent.
|motto = Confidence Determination and Perseverance
}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* ''[http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/explore/online/alexander/index.aspx The Honourable Lincoln Alexander (1922–2012)]'', online exhibit on Archives of Ontario website
{{Canadian Parliament links|ID=42}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090604213609/http://www.citizenship.gov.on.ca/english/honours/lincolnmalexander/ Description of Lincoln M. Alexander Award]
* [http://www.uoguelph.ca/atguelph/06-11-22/ Short interview after book launch]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060514231714/http://www.central.cadets.ca/public/LHQ-QGL/876air/index_e.html biography of his career with the Canadian Air Force]
* [http://www.dundurn.com/books/go_school_youre_little_black_boy Autobiography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023181606/https://www.dundurn.com/books/go-school-youre-little-black-boy |date=2015-10-23 }}

{{S-start}}
{{s-gov}}
{{s-bef|before=[[John Black Aird]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Lieutenant Governor of Ontario]]|years=1985–1991}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Hal Jackman]]}}
{{s-aca}}
{{Succession box|title=[[Chancellor (education)|Chancellor]] of the [[University of Guelph]]|
 before=[[Edmund Bovey]]|
 after=[[Pamela Wallin]]|
 years=1991 – June 2007}}
{{S-end}}

{{ONLG}}
{{Clark Ministry}}
{{CA-Ministers of Labour}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Lincoln}}
[[Category:1922 births]]
[[Category:2012 deaths]]
[[Category:Black Canadian politicians]]
[[Category:Canadian autobiographers]]
[[Category:Canadian Baptists]]
[[Category:Canadian people of Jamaican descent]]
[[Category:Canadian people of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines descent]]
[[Category:Chancellors of the University of Guelph]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of Canada]]
[[Category:Knights of Justice of the Order of St John]]
[[Category:Lawyers in Ontario]]
[[Category:Lieutenant governors of Ontario]]
[[Category:McMaster University alumni]]
[[Category:Members of the 21st Canadian Ministry]]
[[Category:Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of Ontario]]
[[Category:Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Toronto]]
[[Category:Politicians from Hamilton, Ontario]]
[[Category:Politicians from Toronto]]
[[Category:Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs]]
[[Category:Royal Canadian Air Force personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:DeWitt Clinton High School alumni]]
[[Category:Canadian King's Counsel]]
[[Category:Black Canadian lawyers]]
[[Category:Royal Canadian Air Force airmen]]
[[Category:20th-century Baptists]]
[[Category:Canadian Disability Hall of Fame]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada]]
[[Category:Lawyers awarded knighthoods]]