William Lyon Mackenzie was a Scottish Canadian-American journalist and politician. He founded newspapers critical of the Family Compact, a term used to identify elite members of Upper Canada. He represented York County in the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada and aligned with Reformers. He led the rebels in the Upper Canada Rebellion; after its defeat, he unsuccessfully rallied American support for an invasion of Upper Canada as part of the Patriot War. Although popular for criticising government officials, he failed to implement most of his policy objectives. He is one of the most recognizable Reformers of the early 19th century.
Mackenzie c. 1851–61
A portrait of Isabel Mackenzie (née Baxter), Mackenzie's wife, painted in 1850
John George Howard's painting of the third Parliament Building in York, built between 1829 and 1832 at Front Street
Emanuel Hahn's "Mackenzie Panels" (1938) in the garden of Mackenzie House in Toronto. The panels are dedicated to Reformers who argued for responsible government in Upper Canada.
The Family Compact was a small closed group of men who exercised most of the political, economic and judicial power in Upper Canada from the 1810s to the 1840s. It was the Upper Canadian equivalent of the Château Clique in Lower Canada. It was noted for its conservatism and opposition to democracy.
Bishop Strachan. Acknowledged Anglican leader in the Family Compact.
Æneas Shaw. Early member of the compact. Appointed to the Executive Council and Legislative Council of Upper Canada in 1794.
Sir Allan Napier MacNab, 1st Baronet Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada.
Sir James Buchanan Macaulay, CB.
