Five things you might not know about Alexander Mackenzie

Alexander Mackenzie was Canada’s 2nd Prime Minister (1873-1878)

1) Served as Finance minister of Ontario and as an Ottawa MP at the same time. Quebec and Ontario permitted dual representation from 1867 to 1872.

2) Offered a knighthood three times by Queen Victoria and turned it down each time. His working-class pride meant he was the only one of Canada’s first eight PMs who was never a Sir.

3) Failed to win a bid to build Ottawa’s Parliament Buildings for $801,000, losing to a bid that was several thousand dollars lower. The final price tag to build the seat of government ended up being more than $1.5 million.

4) Fell through the ice while walking across a stretch of Lake Ontario to visit his fiancée Helen Neil in Kingston. Arrived at her family’s home soaking wet.

5) Burned a stack of Tory campaign brochures he found sitting in a hotel hallway. The election materials boasted juicy titles like Black Record of the Grit Party. The gesture was out of character for the usually squeaky clean politician.

from Unknown and Unforgettable: A Guide to Canada’s Prime Ministers

Read Full Post »

Knighthood not for Mackenzie

1879: For the second time, former prime minister Alexander Mackenzie refuses a knighthood offered by Queen Victoria. And just in case you think he wasn’t serious about rejecting a peerage offered by Britain, he’ll turn down the offer a third time in two years.

Not all politicians feel the same about the honour. On this very same day, the ‘Sir’ designation is gratefully received by Charles Tupper, Minister of Railways & Canals. In 1895, he’ll become Prime Minister for two months.

Read Full Post »

Rogue MP still popular in Manitoba

1874: The House of Commons votes to formally expel Louis Riel, the leader of the Red River temporary government of 1869-70 who has been in hiding since Canada took over. Despite his status, the people of Provencher riding voted him to Parliament — twice.

The censure vote was prompted by the fact that, just last week, he quietly entered the Parliament Buildings and signed the MPs’ roll then slipped away before being detected. Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie is not amused when Provencher re-elects Riel five months later for a third time.

Read Full Post »

Prayer added to House of Commons

1877: Prayers are included in the House of Commons routine for the first time.

Perhaps it’s not surprising that the initiative occurs during the government of Alexander Mackenzie, a devout Baptist. The Leader of the Opposition Sir John A. Macdonald, on the other hand, is an occasional Presbyterian – unless he attends church  with his Anglican wife Agnes.

Read Full Post »

How many Prime Ministers were editors?

Newspaper editors among past PMs were Alexander Mackenzie (Lambton Shield), Mackenzie Bowell (Belleville Intelligencer), Charles Tupper (British Colonist), and Wilfrid Laurier (Le Défricheur).

John A. Macdonald founded the Toronto Mail, William Lyon Mackenzie King edited the government’s Labour Gazette, Pierre Trudeau was heavily involved with Cité libre, Joe Clark wrote for the Albertan and various other publications, and John Turner edited his high school and university papers.

Read Full Post »

MPs to the end

Five Prime Ministers died while sitting as Members of Parliament. Two of them were still Prime Minister at the time: Sir John A. Macdonald in 1891 and Sir John Thompson in 1894. The second PM, Alexander Mackenzie died in 1892 while serving as MP for York East. Sir Wilfrid Laurier was Leader of the Opposition when he died in 1919. John Diefenbaker died on the job, doing constituency work in his Ottawa study in 1979.

In all, 317 Members of the House of Commons have died in office since 1867. The first one, in 1868, was Thomas D’Arcy McGee — Canada’s first political assassination. The most recent was Jack Layton, Leader of the Opposition, on August 22.

Read Full Post »

Have any PMs lost ministerial by-elections?

Until 1930, any MP appointed to cabinet was required by law to seek re-election in a by-election. Only one Prime Minister failed to win such a by-election. Wilfrid Laurier was appointed Inland Revenue minister in 1877 by Alexander Mackenzie and lost his attempt to retain his seat for Drummond-Arthabaska. The riding of Quebec East was made available to him and he won that by-election — holding the seat until his death in 1919.

The cabinet by-election necessity proved to a be a major headache for Arthur Meighen in 1926. Asked by Governor-General Lord Byng to form a government, he avoided the risk of losing any by-elections by appointing ‘acting’ ministers. A few days later, the Liberals under William Lyon Mackenzie King passed a motion in the House, by one vote, censuring the gambit. So, Meighen decided to call an election — which he lost.

Read Full Post »

How many PMs hung on Parliament Hill?

Twenty Prime Ministers in all have had their official portraits hung in the Centre Block. Only the two most recent — Paul Martin and Stephen Harper — await their turns.

There is no set schedule for determining when a Prime Minister will have his or her portrait painted and added to the collection. Two PMs — Sir John A. Macdonald and William Lyon Mackenzie King — had their portraits done while still in office. Two others — Sir John Abbott and Sir Mackenzie Bowell — waited more than 100 years for their canvases to be done. Both were unveiled in 2002.

Only two artists have more than one portrait in the collection. John Wycliffe Lowes Forster painted Alexander Mackenzie and Sir John Thompson, while Kenneth Keith Forbes painted Sir Robert Borden and R.B. Bennett.

Read Full Post »

Why just one non-knight?

In the first half-century of the country’s history, only one Prime Minister did not have a knighthood. Alexander Mackenzie was in the fourth year of his term as PM when he and prominent Liberal, Edward Blake, were offered knighthoods. Both refused. Two years later, he and George Brown were extended the chance to become ‘Sir’. Both refused. In 1881, he turned down a knighthood for the third time.

As an ardent Reformer, Mackenzie rejected the advantages and power of the aristocracy. Accepting a knighthood struck him as sheer hypocrisy.

Read Full Post »

Any PMs with a military background?

Only Lester Pearson and John Diefenbaker served in the armed forces, as part of the Canadian Army in the First World War. Pearson was hit by a bus during a London air raid and sent home with leg wounds. Diefenbaker returned home after being hit in the back with a shovel while digging trenches in France.

Four early Prime Ministers served in the militia. Sir John A. Macdonald was called up to help quell the Rebellion of 1837, but saw no action. Sir John Abbott served in a volunteer regiment and later commanded the Argenteuil Rangers. Other members of the militia were Alexander Mackenzie and Mackenzie Bowell.

PMs who served as Canada’s militia or defence minister were Macdonald, Bowell and Kim Campbell.

Read Full Post »