Political trailblazer Lincoln Alexander would have turned 100 today and is still touching hearts

Lincoln Alexander is remembered as Canada's first Black member of Parliament and federal cabinet minister, and Ontario's first Black lieutenant-governor.

But to those whose lives he touched, Alexander, who would have turned 100 Friday, he's much more.

Evelyn Auchinvole remembers how Alexander helped Hamilton's first Black church with its first constitution, getting it a charitable tax number, and his singing.

"I grew up in Stewart Memorial Church with him singing in the church choir carrying the bass notes with his big, deep voice," said Auchinvole, a church historian and archivist.

"As he progressed into public life, we felt that same, I'll say, lifting up by association."

Alexander was born Jan. 21, 1922, in Toronto, but spent much of his life in Hamilton. He represented Hamilton West in the House of Commons as a Conservative MP for 12 years beginning in 1968. He was appointed minister of labour in 1979, and in 1985 was sworn in as Ontario's lieutenant-governor and served in the role until 1991.

Although he died Oct. 12, 2012, in Hamilton, he's still touching lives.

"In my travels across the province, I am often stopped by individuals who recall vividly what it was like as a young person to have Lincoln Alexander pause to shake their hands, look them in the eye, and celebrate their potential," Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Ontario's current lieutenant-governor, said in a statement Thursday.

WATCH | Lincoln Alexander reflects on his first year as an MP:

Alexander's parents immigrated to Canada from the West Indies. He moved to Hamilton after serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War, and attended McMaster University in Hamilton and Osgoode Hall law school in Toronto.

During his political career, Auchinvole said, Alexander "brought to the table a diverse voice that had been missing in Canadian politics."

In 1992, Alexander was also appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada and to the Order of Ontario.

He's been honoured in other ways. Several elementary schools, a parkway in Hamilton and a law school in Toronto bear his name. The Ontario government also recognizes Lincoln Alexander Day on Jan. 21.

As a Black woman and now as a student at the Lincoln Alexander School of Law at Ryerson University, Safia Thompson said she could feel the limitations society places on individuals similar to herself.