He was born in Quebec City and ended up heading west because of business he was conducting for an import-export firm's Hamilton, Ontario office.
[1] As the Red River Rebellion wore on, however, he began to advocate a negotiated annexation of the region by Canada, provided local rights were preserved.
In his book about the Red River Troubles in 1869 he laid out the almost state-free social-political system before the rebellion started: Begg left Winnipeg in 1884 for London, England and in 1888 moved to Seattle to re-enter journalism.
His written legacy includes much material from Manitoba and the North-West covering the period he had lived in Winnipeg and later years.
In 1956, the Champlain Society reprinted Begg's journal, as well as several other documents relating to the Red River Rebellion, edited by Canadian historian W. L.