James Duncan McGregor (1860 – 1935)
	
Jim McGregor was born in Amherstburg, Canada West. He and his family moved to Manitoba in 1877 and he worked with his father’s cattle business in Brandon.((“James Duncan McGregor.” //Wikipedia,// 2020 website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Duncan_McGregor.)) Starting in 1886, McGregor was a strong political supporter of Clifford Sifton, the federal Minister of the Interior.((John W. Defoe, //Clifford Sifton in Relation to His Times.// Books For Libraries Press, 1931, reprint 1971: 11.))
	
In November 1897, Thomas Fawcett closed Dominion Creek to staking after discovering claim-jumping and errors in the records. Sifton appointed McGregor Inspector of Mines in the Yukon that winter.((David R. Morrison, //The Politics of the Yukon Territory, 1898-1909.// University of Toronto Press, 1968: 14-15.)) The job of collecting royalties had, up to this time, been performed by the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP). It was a position with considerable opportunity for graft.((Pierre Burton, //The Promised Land: Settling the West 1896-1914.// Doubleday Canada, 2011.)) In April 1898, prospectors began to stake the hill and bench claims along Dominion, and  Fawcett decided to close these new claims as well. A rumour spread that these claims were extremely rich and it was evident that, as soon staking was opened, there would be a stampede. Commissioner Walsh decided to open the creek for staking to those with special permits on 11 July. He then revised his order on July 9 to reserve certain areas for those who had attempted to file claims before McGregor issued his order in April. Rumours spread that some prospectors were informed of the change on July 8 and rushed to stake claims ahead of the crowd. Complaints reached Prime Minister Laurier but Sifton was able to put off an inquiry into the growing scandal until October when William Ogilvie was appointed commissioner and given the power to investigate the complaints.((David R. Morrison, //The Politics of the Yukon Territory, 1898-1909.// University of Toronto Press, 1968: 14-15.))  
	
Lord Minto, the Governor General of Canada, visited the Klondike in August 1900. He heard many complaints about the administration and petitions for a wholly elected council. One of the complaints was that Sifton had insisted on the appointment of J.D. McGregor as the liquor licensing commissioner for the Yukon, and that the Council had refused because NWMP Superintendent Steele had stated that McGregor had been tried for horse stealing.((David R. Morrison, //The Politics of the Yukon Territory, 1898-1909.// University of Toronto Press, 1968: 34.)) NWMP Superintendent Sam Steele had objected. He sat on the liquor board and knew that this position was also potentially lucrative with considerable room for graft. When Sifton heard of Steele’s objections, he terminated Steele’s position in the Yukon in September 1899.((Pierre Burton, //The Promised Land: Settling the West 1896-1914.// Doubleday Canada, 2011.)) 
	
McGregor left the Yukon in 1899 and bought a ranch near Medicine Hat, now Alberta.((“James Duncan McGregor.” //Wikipedia,// 2020 website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Duncan_McGregor.)) In 1901, through his connection with Sifton, McGregor managed to tie up some prime grazing land for twenty-one years. He was also allowed to purchase ten percent of the leased land as an outright purchase.((Pierre Burton, //The Promised Land: Settling the West 1896-1914.// Doubleday Canada, 2011.))
	
McGregor earned international fame for his efforts in stock breeding and he was the first farmer to grow alfalfa in western Canada. In 1917, he was appointed wartime leader of the Food Control Board for the western provinces. In 1929, he succeeded Theodore Burrows as Manitoba’s Lieutenant Governor. He held the position for five years and died soon after.((“James Duncan McGregor.” //Wikipedia,// 2020 website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Duncan_McGregor.))