Sir Mackenzie Bowell

Sir Mackenzie Bowell (born Dec. 27, 1823, Rickinghall, Suffolk, Eng.—died Dec. 10, 1917, Belleville, Ont., Can.) was a publisher, political leader, and prime minister of Canada (1894–96).

At age 10 Bowell moved with his parents to Belleville, Ont., where he became a printer’s apprentice at a local newspaper—the Intelligencer—which he came, eventually, to own. He joined the Orange Order and was a grand master for many years. In 1867 he was elected to the Canadian House of Commons from North Hastings as a Conservative and served until 1892. Bowell was a Cabinet minister in three governments (for customs, militia, and trade and commerce, successively) before he was chosen prime minister and formed his own government in 1894. He was knighted in 1895.

Serious questions arose within his own administration before long, and in early 1896 half of his ministers resigned en masse. Thereupon he resigned; after the Conservatives were defeated he remained in the Senate as opposition leader until his retirement in 1906.