**Editor's/Blogger's Note: I'm writing this series while working remotely with little internet connection. I came into town to write this but forgot my notes in camp - an hour trek away. So this is a draft. Will update it with more insatiable information about Mackie as soon as I can. Also Mackie looks like a guy in high school who I once slow danced with. It's an amazing resemblance.**

The second prime minister du jour is Alexander Mackenzie, whom I will affectionately dub "Mackie".

The Personal Low Down

Mackie comes from more humble roots than most of this political colleagues at the time. The 1880s, when Mackie came to power was still a time of Lords and Ladies, Barons and Sirs, and all of the fancy trappings that made Downton Abbey the most watch period drama. To be a politician in that age meant you had to be a white male with some money and most likely – though not always – a legal practice. It's this aspect of Mackie's personal life that makes him an interesting politician, especially considering the time frame.

Like his predecessor John A., Mackie was born in Scotland in 1822. And for the romantics out there, Mackie came to Canada because he followed his sweetheart Helen Neil, who immigrated with her family in 1842. The two were wed in 1845, and the couple had three children, but life was not without tragedy - two of their children died in infancy and Helen died in 1852, making Mackie a 30-year-old widower. The following year he married Jane Sym, who faithfully helped him throughout his political career.

Jane Sym, the second wife of the second prime minister.

Mackie was a trained stonemason and while some of his political rivals help figuratively build the nation, he literally did it. He helped build multiple structures in the Canada East and Canada West (very descriptive names back then) including the Beauharnois Canal, near Montreal. He was naturally drawn to politics, having expressed interest the Chartist movement in his native Scotland. The Chartist movement advocated for democratic reform, which parlayed into his interest in the Reform Party of Canada – a parent of the current Liberal Party of Canada.

In 1852, Mackie was working as the editor of the Lambton Shield, a reformist newspaper and his position allowed him to form a friendship with party leader, George Brown. With his new political connections and friendships, Mackie was slowly drawn into politics and was elected to the Provincial Assembly in 1861 and to the Federal Assembly upon confederation in 1867.

1873 was arguably a good/great year for the former stonemason. First, he became the leader of the Liberal Party and was at the helm of the opposition to John A's Conservative regime. And secondly, news of the Pacific Scandal broke (detailed in elegance in last week's post), leading tot he demise of John A and a chance for Mackie to rise to power. He took office on November 4, 1873, the day after John A. resigned. Apparently, he had little regard for the first PM and called him nothing more than a "drunken debauchee" – which, arguably, he was, at least a little bit.

Government Highlights

While in the PM's office, Mackie accomplished important foundations for a budding nation. Here are a few highlights:

1873 - Formed the North West Mountain Police to help with the whiskey traders and work as PR with the First Nations communities in the Prairies.

1874 - Introduced the Secret Ballot into Canadian politics – while it might seem like a no-brainer now, in those days people (white men) voted in a very public forum, resulting in brawls and public humiliation if not voting along popular ideologies. The Secret Ballot ensured that Canadians had a ounce of privacy at the voting booths, easing this tension.

1874 - Founding the Royal Military College

1875 - Created the Supreme Court of Canada

1878 - Created the Auditor General's Office - this office is now responsible for auditing government and providing fact-based and objective information to Parliament, regardless of who is in power - talk about Democratic reform.

But he did leave some things neglected in government, most notably the Pacific Railway that was promised on John A. There was also an economic recession at this time, which many blamed on Mackie's liberal government. He was ultimately voted out of office in 1878, when John A came back into power - he remained leader of the opposition for another two years and in Parliament for another dozen, until his death in 1892.

So Mackie was humble and believed in Democracry without artisocratisy. This is what led him to be a "people's prime minister" and refuse the Knighthood offered to him by Queen Victoria not once but three separate times. This made him the first pre-World War One prime minister to not be knighted and me to my next blog post, which will be entirely dedicated to that aspect of his life in politics.