The Enigma of Canada’s Mackenzie King

It is generally agreed by professional students of Canadian politics that William Lyon Mackenzie King (1874-1950) was the most successful politician in Canada’s history. King became leader of the Liberal Party in 1919, and before his retirement in 1948 he had served as Prime Minister for a total of 22 years (1921-1930 and 1935-1948). King had succeeded in leading the country during the trying days of the Great Depression and World War II. Intellectually, King was serious: he enjoyed listening to classical music; as a young man he had been a student of the economist and social theorist Thorstein Veblen; and he was an avid reader who wrote books of his own.