William Lyon Mackenzie, Toronto’s first mayor, journalist and bloody reformer
While walking through Toronto’s historic Necropolis Cemetery, I stopped at the grave of William Lyon Mackenzie—Toronto’s first mayor and reformer who would later lead an armed revolt against the colonial government of Upper Canada.
Before his eventual rebellion, Mackenzie served as Toronto’s first mayor in 1834. During his short tenure, he helped design the city’s first coat of arms, oversaw the construction of some of Toronto’s earliest boardwalks, and presided over a daily police court that heard cases involving public intoxication, domestic abuse, and bylaw violations.
Designed by William Lyon Mackenzie, the coat of arms represented the city’s English heritage, industrial growth, and connection to Lake Ontario.
Mackenzie first made his mark in May 1824, when he launched an influential newspaper in Queenston. He soon moved it to York (now Toronto) to be closer to the provincial parliament. Through the press, he waged an unrelenting campaign against the Family Compact—a small, powerful elite that dominated the political and economic life of Upper Canada. Mackenzie viewed this group as a corrupt and unworkable oligarchy, and his editorials made him both popular and feared.
The leading figure of the Family Compact was Anglican bishop John Strachan.
As frustration with the Family Compact grew, Mackenzie organized a rebellion in early December 1837. He assembled approximately 800 poorly equipped rebels, mostly farmers, at Montgomery’s Tavern, near present-day Yonge and Eglinton. On December 7, 1837, a government force of about 1,000 militia and volunteers attacked. The rebels were quickly defeated, the tavern was destroyed, and the uprising collapsed.
Following the failed rebellion, Mackenzie fled to the United States, living in exile until he was pardoned in 1849. Over time—and especially to later generations—he became something of an unlikely folk hero. Though a military failure, his rebellion is often credited with helping push Britain toward granting more democratic reforms in Canada.
William Lyon Mackenzie died in Toronto on August 28, 1861, at the age of 66.
1795-1861
Mackenzie’s home still stands at 82 Bond Street, Toronto. The house was presented to him in 1859 after he was pardoned for trying to lead a rebellion against the British government, and following his retirement from political office.
I recently visited the Mackenzie House and in a bedroom upstairs was a photo above the fireplace of William’s daughter, Isabel. She was the mother of Canadian Prime Minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King. The longest serving prime minister non-consecutively.
Mackenzie House today.
