Laurier House National Historic Site of Canada

Political Life of William Lyon Mackenzie King

"King of Canada" True Comics #12 May 1942. Please click to see close-up of comic
© Gruner: N.C.A.

Mackenzie King's political career is one of the most extraordinary in Canada's history. He had no charisma and never gained the affection of the Canadian public. As a public speaker he was wooden and uninspiring. As a leader, he seemed indecisive. Yet, he was Canada's longest serving prime minister with a record of achievements rivalled only by Laurier and Sir John A. Macdonald.

As a young man, King was an expert in labour studies and industrial working conditions at a time when Canada was rapidly becoming an industrialised nation. In 1900, he was hired to work in the new federal Department of Labour where he attracted the attention of Prime Minister Laurier who promoted him to the top civil service position in the department, as Deputy Minister. In 1908 he entered politics and having won a seat in the House of Commons, was chosen by Laurier to become the Minister of Labour. This was the beginning of a long-term and close relationship between the two men.

King and Laurier National Liberal Convention Ottawa, August 6 1948
© National Archives of Canada / c-030319

The election of 1911 was a disaster for Laurier's Liberal party and for King who lost his seat in the House of Commons. The party remained in the political wilderness for the rest of the decade and its unity was severely challenged because of a sharp split within its ranks over conscription, which Laurier and a group of Quebec Liberals were almost alone in opposing. King, however, remained loyal to his old friend. When Laurier died in 1919, the party chose King as their new leader. In 1921, he led the Liberals to victory in the general election. King became prime minister, an office that he held for twenty-two years between 1921 and 1948, when he retired.

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