David Laird

The Honourable David Laird PC
The Hon. David Laird
3rd Lieutenant Governor of the North-West Territories
In office October 7, 1876 – December 3, 1881
Monarch	Victoria
Governors General	The Earl of Dufferin Marquess of Lorne
Preceded by	Alexander Morris
Succeeded by	Edgar Dewdney
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Queen's County
In office September 29, 1873 – October 7, 1876
Preceded by	none
Succeeded by	James Colledge Pope
Member of the General Assembly of Prince Edward Island for 4th Queens
In office 1871 – September 29, 1873 Serving with Benjamin Davies
Preceded by	None
Succeeded by	William Welsh
Personal details
Born	(1833-03-12)March 12, 1833 New Glasgow, Prince Edward Island
Died	January 12, 1914(1914-01-12) (aged 80) Ottawa
Nationality	Canadian
Political party	Liberal
Spouse	Mary Louise Owen ​ (m. 1864)​
Children	6
Alma mater	Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Occupation	newspaper editor, publisher
Profession	Politician

David Laird, PC (March 12, 1833 – January 12, 1914) was a Canadian politician. He was born in New Glasgow, Prince Edward Island, into a Presbyterian family noted for its civic activism. His father Alexander had been a long time Reformer and Liberal MLA. David became a Liberal MLA for Belfast. He also established and edited The Patriot.

After initially opposing Confederation, he led in the talks by which Prince Edward Island became a province of Canada. He became a Liberal member of the Canadian parliament in the government of Alexander Mackenzie. He served as minister of the interior and guided the passage of the Indian Act into Canadian law. He was the first resident lieutenant governor of North-West Territories. He was the fifth lieutenant governor in charge of the territory. He negotiated several aboriginal treaties. Even though David Laird adopted the paternalistic views of his time in working with aboriginals, colleagues noted his consistent hard work, reliability and honesty in his dealings as a federal official.