Submission declined on 20 November 2025 by DoubleGrazing (talk). This draft's references do not show that the person meets Wikipedia's criteria for inclusion for people. The draft requires multiple published secondary sources that: provide significant coverage: discuss the person in detail, not brief mentions or interviews lacking independent analysis; are reliable: from reputable outlets with editorial oversight; are independent: not connected to the person, such as interviews, press releases, the subject's own website, or sponsored content. Please add references that meet all three of these criteria. If none exist, the subject is not yet suitable for Wikipedia. If you would like to continue working on the submission, click on the "Edit" tab at the top of the window. If you have not resolved the issues listed above, your draft will be declined again and potentially deleted. If you need extra help, please ask us a question at the AfC Help Desk or get live help from experienced editors. Please do not remove reviewer comments or this notice until the submission is accepted. Where to get help If you need help editing or submitting your draft, please ask us a question at the AfC Help Desk or get live help from experienced editors. These venues are only for help with editing and the submission process, not to get reviews. If you need feedback on your draft, or if the review is taking a lot of time, you can try asking for help on the talk page of a relevant WikiProject. Some WikiProjects are more active than others so a speedy reply is not guaranteed. How to improve a draft Wikipedia:Contributing to Wikipedia – a basic overview on how to edit Wikipedia. Help:Wikitext – how to use the markup Help:Referencing for beginners – how to include references Wikipedia:Article development – how to develop your article Wikipedia:Writing better articles – how to improve your article Wikipedia:Verifiability – make sure your article includes reliable third-party sources You can also browse Wikipedia:Featured articles and Wikipedia:Good articles to find examples of Wikipedia's best writing on topics similar to your proposed article. Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. Add tags to your draft Editor resources Easy tools: Citation bot (help) | Advanced: Fix bare URLs Declined by DoubleGrazing 8 months ago. Last edited by Jay 50 days ago. Reviewer: Inform author. Resubmit Please note that if the issues are not fixed, the draft will be declined again.

Reverend Benjamin Sinclair was a Métis lay-minister and a key early Methodist missionary in central Alberta, Canada, known for his work with the Cree people alongside his close friend, the Reverend Henry Bird Steinhauer.

Born in the Norway House region of present-day Manitoba, Benjamin Sinclair was the son of Hudson's Bay Company employee William Sinclair the Elder, a fur trader. He was an associate of the Reverend Robert Rundle, the first Protestant missionary to the area, who presided at his marriage to his wife, Margaret.

Sinclair met Rundle at Norway House in 1840^[1] and was recruited to assist with the new mission at Pigeon Lake in 1847. When Rundle left due to an arm injury, Sinclair and his family were left in charge of the mission, where he served as a dedicated lay preacher for several years. He and his wife brought practical skills, such as farming and lumber sawing, to the mission, along with knowledge of the Bible and Cree syllabics.

After leaving Pigeon Lake for a time, Sinclair was asked to return to Alberta to work with the Reverend Henry Bird Steinhauer to establish a mission at Lac La Biche. The two became close friends and worked together in the region for nearly 40 years, educating and sharing their faith with local families in Alberta communities that are now known as Lac La Biche, Smoky Lake, and St. Paul.

Sinclair became an important leader and an advocate for schooling at the Whitefish Lake settlement. In 1884, he contracted influenza and died on December 28th. His friend, Henry Steinhauer, died from the same epidemic the very next day. The families agreed to bury the two men in a common grave at Goodfish Lake, where they rest side-by-side.

Benjamin Sinclair's work and that of his contemporaries were foundational to the Methodist Church's presence in the Canadian Northwest. A provincial historic site, the Benjamin and Margaret Sinclair Provincial Historic Site, commemorates their contributions at Rundle's Mission in Pigeon Lake.