III.

Liberal Leader

Macdonald's government succeeded in forming a federation, the Dominion of Canada, in 1867. In the first election for a dominion Parliament, Mackenzie ran, and was elected to represent Lambton County. However, Brown lost his public support and his appetite for politics as well. He went to England, and in his absence, Mackenzie became temporary leader of the Liberal opposition.

With Brown gone, Mackenzie found a political associate in young Edward Blake, the new leader of the Liberals in Ontario. In the election of 1871 the Liberals won a majority in Ontario and Blake became the provincial premier. Mackenzie, representing West Middlesex County, was provincial secretary and registrar. When Blake went to England later in the year, Mackenzie became provincial treasurer and essentially governed Ontario during the time that Blake was away.

In 1872 an act favored by Mackenzie was passed, preventing members of the federal Parliament from sitting in provincial legislatures at the same time. Mackenzie resigned his provincial offices. In the 1872 federal election he again ran in Lambton and won. Because Brown still refused to return to politics, the Liberal opposition had to choose a permanent leader. Mackenzie favored the appointment of either Blake or Antoine Aimé Dorion of Québec. However, Mackenzie, who had been Brown's assistant during his entire political career, seemed like the obvious choice, and Blake persuaded him to lead the party.

Mackenzie had based his campaigns against the Conservatives on the idea of free trade. He also had attacked the cost of the railway that the Conservatives were building to the Pacific. In 1873 he was given a far more effective weapon. The Pacific Railway scandal came to light just after the election. The Liberals had already discovered that the Canadian company that was building the railway was associated with United States railroad interests. They found that Sir Hugh Allan, the company's promoter, had financed the Conservative election campaign in return for the rights to build the line. After seven days of debate Macdonald resigned.