Alexander Mackenzie PC January 28, β April 17, was a Canadian politician who served as the second prime minister of Canada , in office from to 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 β such as the editorship of a pro- Reformist newspaper called the Lambton Shield. He became leader of the party thus Leader of the Opposition in mid, and a few months later succeeded John A.
Macdonald as the prime minister, following Macdonald's resignation in the aftermath of the Pacific Scandal. Mackenzie and the Liberals won a clear majority at the election. He was popular among the general public for his humble background and consistent democratic principles. As the prime minister, Mackenzie continued the nation-building programme that had been begun by his predecessor. His government established the Supreme Court of Canada and Royal Military College of Canada , and created the District of Keewatin to better administer Canada's newly acquired western territories.
However, it made little progress on the transcontinental railway , and struggled to deal with the aftermath of the Panic of At the election , Mackenzie's government suffered a landslide defeat.
He remained leader of the Liberal Party for another two years, and continued on as a Member of Parliament MP until his death, due to a stroke. The house in which he was born was built by his father. He was the third of 10 boys, seven of whom survived infancy. Mackenzie's father died on March 7, , and at the age of 13, Alexander Mackenzie Jr. He apprenticed as a stonemason and met his future wife, Helen Neil, in Irvine, where her father was also a stonemason.
