Miles MacDonell (c. 1767 – 28 June 1828) was the first governor of the Red River Colony (or, Assiniboia), a 19th-century Scottish settlement located in present-day Manitoba and North Dakota.

On 11 June 1815, representatives of the North West Company attacked and fired upon the colonists, and demanded the surrender of Governor Macdonell, who, to avoid the loss of blood, gave himself up voluntarily.

They have focused upon his character faults, his inability to inspire trust and loyalty among his people, his obstinacy, his arrogance, his unaccommodating temper, and his lack of staying power.

It was promulgated at a time when the colony was too weak to defend itself and it offered the NWC excellent propaganda against both the HBC and Lord Selkirk.

His behaviour during those years suggests that he saw the colony as entirely separate from the fur trade but his point of view does not excuse an insensitivity that blinded him to the provocative nature of his actions.