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Sir Mackenzie Bowell PC KCMG (/ ˈ b oʊ. əl /; December 27, 1823 – December 10, 1917) was a Canadian newspaper publisher and politician, who served as the fifth prime minister of Canada, in office from 1894 to 1896.
- Early Life
- Militia Service
- Personal and Social Life
- Orange Order
- Newspaper Career
- Political Life
- Prime Minister 1894–96
- Later Career
- Death and Legacy
Mackenzie Bowell was born in Rickinghall, Suffolk, England, the son of John Bowell and Elizabeth Marshall, in 1823. The family came to Canada in 1833 and settled in Upper Canada. As a boy, the young Bowell learned cabinetmaking from his father. Soon after his arrival in Belleville, he went to work for the local newspaper, The Intelligencer,as a pri...
Mackenzie Bowell was a strong advocate and organizer for the militia in Hastings County. In 1857, he helped organize the First Volunteer Militia Rifle Company of Belleville. He served as an ensign with the company from 1858 to 1865 and later became its lieutenant colonel. Bowell saw active duty at Amherstburg, Upper Canada, amid the tensions of the...
While he was an active supporter of the local militia, Mackenzie Bowell also devoted time and energy to his community by serving on the board of school trustees, grammar school board and board of agriculture and arts in Belleville. Bowell married Harriet Louise Moore in 1847 and, together, they had nine children.
Mackenzie Bowell was a devout Protestant and member of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. In 1842, he joined the Orange Order, a political and religious fraternal society that was founded in Ireland in 1795. In Canada, members defended Protestantism, promoted the country’s place in the British Empire and provided mutual aid and social activities. Addit...
Bowell became a partner of The Intelligencer in 1848 and took on the role of editor. The following year, he and his brother-in-law became the newspaper’s publishers. By the early 1850s, Bowell was a leading figure in the Canadian newspaper industry. During this period, he became exclusive proprietor of The Intelligencerand transformed it from a wee...
Just as he had succeeded George Benjamin as newspaper editor, Mackenzie Bowell followed in his mentor’s footsteps as a politician as well. Bowell first ran as a Conservative candidate for the riding of Hastings North in the Province of Canadain 1863. Though he lost this first attempt, he remained interested in politics. He ran and won as a federal ...
When Prime Minister John S.D. Thompson died in office in December 1894, there was no unanimous choice to succeed him. Because Mackenzie Bowell was the most senior member of the government and had served as acting prime minister on a couple of occasions when Thompson had been overseas, Governor General Lord Aberdeen chose him to head the new governm...
While relinquishing control of the Office of the Prime Minister, Bowell still kept his seat in the Senate. He remained Leader of the Government in the Senate until Liberal leader Wilfrid Laurierwon the 1896 federal election. At that point, Bowell became Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, a position he held until 1906. Although he resigned from...
Bowell died of pneumonia in Belleville on 10 December 1917 at the age of 93. He is buried at Belleville Cemetery. While he was prime minister for a period of only 493 days, he was named a National Historic Person in 1945. The township of Bowell, Ontario (now part of the Municipal Township of Valley East), was named in his honour, as was the hamlet ...
Learn about Sir Mackenzie Bowell, a publisher, political leader, and prime minister of Canada (1894–96). Find out his biography, achievements, controversies, and legacy in this article from Britannica.com.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Elected to the first Canadian parliament in 1867, he was a hard-right member of Prime Minister Macdonald’s cabinet and held several important posts during the country’s long period of Conservative rule. In 1892 he was appointed head of the Canadian Senate.
Sir Mackenzie Bowell began his career with lusty Orange prejudices, but by the 1880s his fighting spirit was subsumed within Conservative politics and his Orange positions had softened. According to the Toronto Globe, it was Bowell who succeeded in making the Orange order more friendly to Catholics. That tolerance was born of political necessity.
- P. B. Waite
- BOWELL, Sir MACKENZIE
- Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 14
Sir Mackenzie Bowell PC KCMG (/ ˈ b oʊ. əl /; December 27, 1823 – December 10, 1917) was a Canadian newspaper publisher and politician, who served as the fifth prime minister of Canada, in office from 1894 to 1896.
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Jan 15, 2021 · Learn about the life and career of Mackenzie Bowell, the third prime minister of Canada after Sir John A. Macdonald. Hear about his roles as a printer, editor, Orange leader, MP and minister in this episode of Canadian History Ehx podcast.
