3 - William Lyon Mackenzie: Rebel, Mayor, Crank

In this episode, we discuss the career of one of history’s most famous Torontonians, William Lyon Mackenzie. Those of you who know your Canadian history have probably heard of Mackenzie; in the late 1830s he famously led a failed rebellion against the government of Upper Canada. Less well known about Mackenzie, though, is that just a few years before that rebellion he actually served as the city of Toronto’s first mayor.

So in this episode, we discuss not only Mackenzie himself, but also politics in Toronto’s early history. Why did the town of York incorporate as the city of Toronto in 1834, and what did it mean to do so? What were the major issues of the day in the city? And what were the priorities of Toronto’s first government? We discuss all this and more in this episode.

Some additional resources related to today’s topics:

• Paul Romney, "William Lyon Mackenzie as Mayor of Toronto," Canadian Historical Review 56, no. 4 (December 1975): 416–436.
• F.H. Armstrong, "William Lyon Mackenzie, First Mayor of Toronto: A Study of a Critic in Power," Canadian Historical Review 48, no. 4 (December 1967): 309–331.
• Mark Maloney, Toronto's Mayors: A History of the City's Leaders (Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2023).
• Michel Ducharme, The Idea of Liberty in Canada during the Age of Atlantic Revolutions, 1776–1838 (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2014).

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Listening T.O. History is created and hosted by Steve Penfold and Louis Reed-Wood. Our artwork was made by Nethkaria, our intro music was recorded by the National Promenade Band, and our outro music was created by Holizna. Follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/listeningt.o.history) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/people/Listening-TO-History/61553456499160/) for additional content and announcements, and get in touch at listeningTOhistory[at]gmail.com!