Background
Born in Lanark, Upper Canada, he was the son of James McLaren, an immigrant from Scotland. He married Sophia, the daughter of William Lees.
politician Member of the Senate of Canada
Born in Lanark, Upper Canada, he was the son of James McLaren, an immigrant from Scotland. He married Sophia, the daughter of William Lees.
McLaren was involved in the timber trade and operated sawmills in Carleton Place and at McLaren"s depot on the Kingston and Pembroke Railway line as well as in Alberta. The Acting was disallowed by John Alexander Macdonald, leading to a dispute over jurisdiction between the Mowat government in Ontario and the federal government. However, in 1884, the Acting was upheld by the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in McLaren v.
Caldwell.
McLaren was appointed to the Senate of Canada in 1890 on the advice of John Alexander Macdonald representing the senatorial division of Perth, Ontario. A Conservative, he served 29 years until his death in Perth in 1919.