Racist sentiment was commonplace and widely accepted among Macdonald and his peers. A belief in the racial superiority of caucasians was central to the development of Macdonald’s vision of Canada. Racialized policies, exclusion, and assimilation tactics greatly affected Indigenous populations and migrants of colour, like the Chinese migrant workers who helped build the CPR but were prohibited from immigrating. In his own words, uttered in the House of Commons in 1885 to oppose legislation that would allow East Asians to vote federally, Macdonald’s views are revealed “if [the Chinese] came in great numbers and settled on the Pacific coast they might control the vote of that whole Province, and they would send Chinese representative[s] to sit here, who would represent Chinese eccentricities, Chinese immorality, Asiatic principles altogether opposite to our wishes; [...] the eccentricities which are abhorrent to the Aryan race and Aryan principles, on this House.” The policy denying federal voting rights to East Asian migrants, within The Electoral Franchise Act of 1885, was passed.

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Today, views such as these are often associated with racism. But is it fair to judge a 19th century figure on 21st century values? Is it possible to celebrate some of his accomplishments and condemn others or are his actions and their legacies too enmeshed to be disentangled?