David Laird was born on March 12, 1833, in New Glasgow, Prince Edward Island.

He was a journalist, editor, newspaper publisher, politician, lieutenant-governor, and Indian commissioner. He was educated at the Presbyterian Theological Seminary at Tutor, N.S. In 1859, he founded and edited the leading Liberal journal in P.E.I. In 1873, he took part in the negotiations to incorporate P.E.I. into Confederation, won a seat in the House of Commons in Ottawa, and was made Minister of the Interior (1873-1876). In 1874, he paved the way for the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway and Dominion Telegraph by negotiating the Qu'Appelle Lakes Treaty (Treaty 4) with local First Nations groups in southern Saskatchewan. In 1876, his department created the Indian Act. He was appointed 1st Lieutenant-Governor of the North-West Territories (1876-1881) as well as superintendent of Indian Affairs. He used his position as Lieutenant-Governor to secure funding to develop local schools and pay for public works. He negotiated and presided over several other treaties with Indigenous peoples. In 1881, he returned to P.E.I. to run again for parliament in the 1882 election. After his defeat, he served as editor of the Charlottetown Patriot until 1889. From 1909 to 1914 he was an adviser to the Indian Affairs Department at Ottawa.

In 1864, he married Mary Louise Owen (1833–1895). He remarried Sarah Tynan (1858–1911). He died on January 12, 1914, in Ottawa, Ontario.

Rev. Robert Laing was born on January 15, 1841, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

He was a Presbyterian clergyman and educator. He received his elementary education in his native land. In 1847, his family settled at Chambly and Buckingham, Quebec. He graduated from McGill College, Montreal (B.A., 1868; M.A., 1872) and studied theology at Morin College, Quebec, and Edinburgh University, Scotland. He received his licence to preach in 1872 and became assistant minister of the St. Paul's Church, Montreal. In 1878, he was appointed minister of St. Matthew's Church, Halifax, where he remained pastor until 1891. In 1887, he founded the Ladies' College and Conservatory of Music in Halifax and became its principal in 1891. Its success was due mainly to his wise foresight, sound judgment, deep scholarship, and thorough knowledge of the subjects taught, together with his wide administrative ability.

In 1878, he married Katherine Dobie Croil (1854–). He died on April 19, 1919, in Halifax, Nova Scotia.