He represented Vancouver City from 1903 until his defeat in the 1916 provincial election in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia as a Conservative.

He was born on Prince Edward Island, the son of William Stainforth MacGowan and Ann Burston Boswall, and was educated there.

His grandfather Peter Magowan had served as attorney general for Prince Edward Island.

He was a prominent member of the Masonic lodges of Prince Edward Island and Vancouver.

This article about a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is a stub.