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Alexander Mackenzie (politician)

Prime Minister of Canada from 1873 to 1878

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Mackenzie was born in Logierait, Perthshire, Scotland. He left school at the age of 13, following his father's death, to help his widowed mother, and trained as a stonemason. Mackenzie immigrated to the Province of Canada when he was 19, settling in what became Ontario. His masonry business prospered, allowing him to pursue other interests – such as the editorship of a pro-Reformist newspaper called the Lambton Shield. Mackenzie was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada in 1862, as a supporter of George Brown.

In 1867, Mackenzie was elected to the new House of Commons of Canada for the Liberal Party. He became leader of the party (and thus leader of the Opposition) in mid-1873, and a few months later, following John A. Macdonald's resignation in the aftermath of the Pacific Scandal, he succeeded Macdonald as prime minister. Mackenzie and the Liberals won a majority government in the 1874 federal election. He was popular among the general public for his humble background and consistent democratic principles.

As prime minister, Mackenzie continued the nation-building program which began under his predecessor. His government introduced the secret ballot, established the Supreme Court of Canada and Royal Military College of Canada, enacted the Indian Act, and created the District of Keewatin to better administer Canada's newly acquired western territories. It struggled to deal with the aftermath of the Panic of 1873 and made limited progress on the transcontinental railway. Mackenzie's Liberals were defeated in the 1878 federal election. He remained leader of the Liberal Party for another two years, and continued on as an MP until his death from a stroke.

Early life

Mackenzie was born on January 28, 1822, in Logierait, Perthshire, Scotland, the son of Mary Stewart (Fleming) and Alexander Mackenzie Sr. (born 1784) who were married in 1817. The site of his birthplace is known as Clais-'n-deoir (the Hollow of the Weeping), where families said their goodbyes as the convicted were led to nearby Gallows Hill. The house in which he was born was built by his father. He was the third of 10 boys, seven of whom survived infancy. Alexander Mackenzie Sr. was a carpenter and ship's joiner who had to move around frequently for work after the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815. Mackenzie's father died on March 7, 1836. Alexander Mackenzie Jr. was then forced to end his formal education at 13 years old to help support his family. He apprenticed as a stonemason and met his future wife, Helen Neil. They met in Irvine, where her father was also a stonemason. The Neils were Baptist and shortly thereafter, Mackenzie converted from Presbyterianism to Baptist beliefs. In 1842, the couple and her family immigrated to Canada to seek a better life. Mackenzie's faith linked him to the increasingly influential temperance cause. The cause was particularly strong in Canada West (now Ontario) and this would become a constituency which he represented in the House of Commons.

Mackenzie, Helen, and her family settled in Kingston, Canada West. The limestone in the area proved too hard for his stonemason tools, and not having money to buy new tools, Mackenzie took a job as a labourer constructing a building on Princess Street. The contractor on the job claimed financial difficulty, so Mackenzie accepted a promissory note for summer wages. The note later proved to be worthless. Subsequently, Mackenzie won a contract building a bomb-proof arch at Fort Henry. He later became a foreman on the construction of Kingston's four Martello Towers – Murney Tower, Fort Frederick, Cathcart Tower, and Shoal Tower. He was also a foreman on the construction of the Welland Canal and the Lachine Canal. While working on the Beauharnois Canal, a one-ton stone fell and crushed one of his legs. He recovered, but never regained the strength in that leg.

While in Kingston, Mackenzie became a vocal opponent of religious and political entitlement and corruption in government.

Mackenzie was a Baptist and a teetotaller. He was known as a prankster (stuffed chimney on young in-laws; rolled boulder down Thunder Cape towards friend A. McKellar; burned Tory campaign placards in hotel woodstove early in morning). He took pride in his Scottish heritage.

Mackenzie married Helen Neil (1826–1852) in 1845. The couple moved to Sarnia, Canada West, in 1847. Helen gave birth to three children but only their girl, Mary (1848), had survived infancy. They were soon joined from Scotland by the rest of Mackenzie's brothers and his mother. He began working as a general contractor, earning a reputation for being a hard-working and honest man, with a working man's view on fiscal policy. Mackenzie helped construct many courthouses and jails across southern Ontario. A number of these still stand today, including the Sandwich Courthouse and Jail now known as the Mackenzie Hall Cultural Centre in Windsor, Ontario, and the Kent County Courthouse and Jail in Chatham, Ontario. He even bid, unsuccessfully, on the construction of the Parliament buildings in Ottawa in 1859.

Helen died in 1852, finally succumbing to the effects of excessive doses of mercury-based calomel used to treat a fever while in Kingston. In 1853, he married Jane Sym (1825–1893).

Mackenzie served as a Major in the 27th Lambton Battalion of Infantry from 1866 to 1874, serving on active duty during the Fenian Raids in 1870.

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