John Alexander McDougall was born 20 May 1854 to Janet Cummings and Alexander J. McDougall in Oakwood, Ontario. After leaving school at the age of 13 he worked as a store clerk until he moved west in 1873, originally to Winnipeg MB. He returned to Ontario to marry Lovisa Jane Amey (1878-1942) in Cannington, Ontario on March 20, 1878. They had four children, Alice, John C., James and Edmond.

In 1879 John and Lovisa settled in Edmonton. McDougall first established himself as a fur trader in competition with the Hudson’s Bay Company. Then he set up as a general merchant in Edmonton, alone and, from 1897, in partnership with Richard Henry Secord, a local fur trader. Together, they established McDougall & Secord Ltd., a trading and real estate investment business.

McDougall’s standing in the business community led him to establish the Edmonton Board of Trade, of which he was the first president. He was also a promoter and director of the first Edmonton Electric Light and Power Company.

John A. McDougall was elected an Edmonton alderman in 1894 and 1895. He served two terms as mayor in 1897 and 1908. In 1909 he won a seat as a Liberal MLA for Edmonton and he was a member of the first Senate of the University of Alberta.

John Alexander McDougall died 17 Dec 1928 in Edmonton, at the age of 74. Lovisa Amey McDougall died 19 Nov 1943 in Edmonton. They are buried in the Edmonton Municipal Cemetery.