Morrison was born in Mount Forest, Ontario, the son of Scottish immigrants who had come to Canada one year earlier.
He worked as a merchant[3] and was for four years the Office Trustee of Grand Rapids, Manitoba.
Morrison was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in a by-election on September 16, 1916, in the newly created northern constituency of Rupertsland.
During this period, he served as a backbench supporter of Tobias Norris's government.
The election in Rupertsland was deferred until after the rest of the province had voted; with the Liberal defeat already confirmed, Morrison chose not to run again.