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Early Life:
King’s father was a lawyer and his grandfather was William Lyon Mackenzie. King
looked up to both these figures and both influenced him throughout his political
career. He attended the University of Toronto and the University of Chicago
where he studied economics and law. After graduation, he received his Masters
and pursued further studies at Harvard. In 1900, he entered the civil service
and became the Deputy Minister of the new Department of Labour. Shortly after,
he joined the Liberal Party and by 1908 had won a seat in the election. The
following year he was appointed Minister of Labour in Sir Wilfrid Laurier’s
cabinet. King lost his seat in 1911 and went to work as a labour consultant for
the Rockefeller Foundation in the United States. He ran again in the 1917
election, but again did not win. Finally in 1919 he was elected leader of the
liberal party in the first leadership convention held in Canada. In
1921, the Liberals won the election. |
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Known for:
In his first term in office, King made a name for himself because of his
dealings with tariffs and freight rates. King had reduced them. However, some
prairie farmers were still not satisfied. The following year, the Liberals lost
a vote of confidence. The Governor General refused King’s request to dissolve
Parliament and called on Arthur Meighan, Leader of the Opposition, to form a
government. However, Meighan only lasted four days when King called for a vote
on the constitutional right of Meighan to govern. The Conservatives lost the
vote and an election was called.
King and his party won the 1926 election. In this term, King reduced the war
debt and introduced an old-age pension scheme. However, the Liberals lost the
election in 1930. This may have been their best fortune, however. The worst
years of the depression were blamed on the new Conservative Party that had taken
over government. In the next election in 1935, the Liberals were voted back in.
King led Canada through the Second World War, during which Canada provided food,
supplies, financial aid, the Commonwealth Air Training Plan, ships, aircraft,
tanks, and over a million Canadian troops to the Allied forces.
In 1940, King introduced unemployment insurance and in 1944, he introduced
family allowance.
In 1948, King retired and died only two years later. His successor, Louis St.
Laurent, kept the Liberals in power for another eight years. |
