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William Lyon Mackenzie: Toronto’s First Mayor and Rebel

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William Lyon Mackenzie (March 12, 1795 to August 28, 1861) was a Scottish-born newspaper publisher and reform politician who became the first mayor of Toronto in 1834 and led the armed uprising that ended at Montgomery’s Tavern on December 7, 1837. He is remembered in Toronto as both a municipal founder and a rebel, and he spent most of the following decade outside the colony.

Life in brief

Born March 12, 1795, near Dundee, Scotland
Died August 28, 1861, Toronto
Role Newspaper publisher, member of the Assembly of Upper Canada, first mayor of Toronto, leader of the 1837 rebellion
Toronto connection Published the Colonial Advocate at York, mayor in 1834, final home at 82 Bond Street

Arrival and the Colonial Advocate

Mackenzie sailed to Upper Canada in 1820 with John Lesslie and soon settled in York. In 1824 he started a newspaper, the Colonial Advocate. The first issue appeared at Queenston on May 18, 1824, and he moved the paper to York in November of that year. The Advocate attacked the small group of office holders who dominated the colony’s government, and it made him a leading critic of that group.

The press riot of 1826

On June 8, 1826, a group of young Tories broke into the Advocate’s office in York, smashed the press, and threw the type into the bay. Mackenzie sued and won damages of 625 pounds at trial, according to the Dictionary of Canadian Biography.

In the Assembly

Mackenzie won the York seat in the Assembly in 1828. The Tory majority expelled him several times between 1831 and 1833, and each time the voters of York returned him. He was finally seated in December 1833 after orders from Lieutenant-Governor Sir John Colborne. A committee he chaired produced the Seventh Report on Grievances in 1835, a long statement of Reform complaints about the way the province was governed.

First mayor of Toronto

York was incorporated as the City of Toronto in March 1834, and Mackenzie was chosen as its first mayor by his fellow councillors that year. The post was a municipal one with limited powers.

The rebellion of 1837

In December 1837 Mackenzie led an armed rising against the colonial government. It collapsed after the defeat at Montgomery’s Tavern on Yonge Street on December 7, 1837, and he fled to the United States. The march, the fighting, the trials, and the executions are covered in the separate article on the 1837 Rebellion in Toronto, which is the place to look for the course of events. This page follows Mackenzie’s own path afterward.

Exile and return

In the United States Mackenzie was involved in border raids, including the episode on Navy Island. He was convicted of violating American neutrality laws in 1839 and pardoned in May 1840. He became an American citizen in 1843. An amnesty in 1849 allowed him to return to Canada, and from 1851 he sat in the Assembly for Haldimand County.

Mackenzie House

Mackenzie died in Toronto on August 28, 1861, after what the Dictionary of Canadian Biography calls an apoplectic seizure. His last home, at 82 Bond Street, is a townhouse built in 1858 and now a City of Toronto museum. According to the City, the house was saved from demolition in 1936, when the neighbouring row houses were torn down, and the rescue is credited to his grandson William Lyon Mackenzie King, then prime minister. The museum’s page is the place to check for current programs and opening times.

Timeline

  • 1795: born near Dundee.
  • 1820: sails to Upper Canada.
  • 1824: first issue of the Colonial Advocate, May 18.
  • 1826: press destroyed, June 8.
  • 1828: elected for York.
  • 1834: first mayor of Toronto.
  • 1835: Seventh Report on Grievances.
  • 1837: defeat at Montgomery’s Tavern, December 7.
  • 1840: pardoned in the United States, May.
  • 1849: amnesty and return.
  • 1861: dies in Toronto.

Where he stands in the record

The Dictionary of Canadian Biography treats Mackenzie as a central figure of the reform movement in Upper Canada. His career ran from newspaper criticism and Assembly politics to armed rebellion, and then to an amnesty and a return to the Assembly in 1851. Readers interested in the constitutional changes that followed can read about Robert Baldwin, a Reform contemporary who is covered in a separate biography.

Frequently asked questions

Who was the first mayor of Toronto?

William Lyon Mackenzie. The city was incorporated in March 1834, and Mackenzie was chosen as mayor by his fellow councillors that year.

What happened to William Lyon Mackenzie after the 1837 rebellion?

He fled to the United States, took part in border raids, was convicted under American neutrality laws in 1839, and was pardoned in May 1840. An amnesty in 1849 let him return to Canada.

Where did William Lyon Mackenzie die?

In Toronto, on August 28, 1861. His last home, a townhouse on Bond Street built in 1858, is now a City of Toronto museum.

Was William Lyon Mackenzie King related to Mackenzie?

Yes. The City of Toronto identifies Mackenzie King, prime minister of Canada, as Mackenzie’s grandson and credits him with saving the Bond Street house from demolition in 1936.

Last verified: October 2026

Sources

  • Dictionary of Canadian Biography, MACKENZIE, WILLIAM LYON (F. H. Armstrong and R. J. Stagg), vol. 9
  • City of Toronto, Mackenzie House museum page
  • Dictionary of Canadian Biography entry for William Lyon Mackenzie
Cite this page

APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 23). William Lyon Mackenzie: Toronto’s First Mayor and Rebel. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/william-lyon-mackenzie

MLA: “William Lyon Mackenzie: Toronto’s First Mayor and Rebel.” History of Toronto, 23 Oct. 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/william-lyon-mackenzie. Accessed .

Chicago: History of Toronto. “William Lyon Mackenzie: Toronto’s First Mayor and Rebel.” Last modified October 23, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/william-lyon-mackenzie.

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