William King

> *"The existing attitude of the forces of capital, labour and state between one another is far too often one of antagonism, coercion and mistrust. This was the condition of the nations of Europe before the war. If these elements of society are to serve humanity, the situation which is distinguished by these characteristics must yield to a new order based upon mutual confidence and cooperation. Such an adjustment will require patience, but nothing short of it will resolve the issues which arise from the present state of modern civilization." - Humanity and Industry* by William King
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**William Lyon Mackenzie King B.L., M.A., Ph.D., CMG OM PC, (17, December, 1874 - 22, July, 1950)** was a Scottish author, consultant, diplomat, politician, philosopher and statesman. During his career, King served as a Member of Parliament, fourth Minister of Labour, twenty-fifth President of His Majesty's Privy Council for Canada, fifth Minister of Foreign Affairs, and tenth Prime Minister of the Dominion of Canada.

King's administration centralized the Bank of Canada and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as Crown corporations, decentralized national resource management, deployed forces to Africa, Asia and Europe during the Second World War in service of King George V, King Edward VIII and King George VI, established the Dominion of Canada's substantial welfare programme, expanded the Royal Canadian Armed Forces, managed the Commonwealth Air Force Training Programme, oversaw the construction of the Alaska-Yukon Highway.

King personally co-founded the Anglo-American Board of Defence for North America, designed the layout of the Dominion's administrative capitol in Ottawa, drafted the the *Immigration Act of 1923,* instituting immigration restrictions which excluded non-Europeans, and the *Opium Act of 1908*, prohibiting the distribution, production and sale of opioidsto combat the crisis which accompanied an influx of Chinese labourers, lead the Canadian delegation at the Imperial Conferences of 1923, 1926 and 1937, and signed the *Canada-U.S. Produce Trade Agreement of 1935*, the *Anglo-American Continental Defence Agreement of 1940* and the *Anglo-American Munitions Agreement of 1941*.

## Biography

### Early Life

William Lyon Mackenzie King was born to John King, a lawyer and professor, and his wife Isabella (née Mackenzie,) at Berlin, Ontario on 17, December, 1874. He was the second of four children, including: Bella, Jennie and Max.

### Political Career

Immigration

An ardent ethnonationalist, King's beliefs and principles lead him to favour national ethnic homogeneity during his years in academia amongst the alumni of universities in Canada and the United States, and this would influence administrative policy in the King Ministry. King himself drafted the *Immigration Act of 1923*, reserving the freedom to migrate to Canada for western Europeans exclusively. In his 1908 dissertation on foreign immigration, for which he earned a Ph.D., King stated:

> "*That Canada should desire to restrict immigration and remain a white man's country is regarded as not only natural, but necessary for economic, political and social reasons.*"*- Oriental Immigration to Canada* by W.L. Mackenzie King
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## Personal Life

#### Religion

A lifelong Christian, King adhered to the denominational beliefs and practices of the Presbyterian Church. His religious principles influenced his philosophy regarding class relations, industrial relations and international cooperation. It was on the basis of these principles that King developed the Dominion's welfare programme, believing that one should "help those who cannot help themselves," an element of state-citizen relations in the Dominion which remains in effect today.

## Trivia

* King was bilingual and fluent in English and French.
* King was Canada's most well-educated Prime Minister and the only one to have earned a Ph.D.
* King was the only Prime Minister of Canada to serve under three monarchs; George V, Edward VIII and George VI.
* King was the longest serving Prime Minister of any Dominion in the history of the British Empire, holding office for 21 years and 154 days.