by George Mathewson for the Sarnia Observer
(2003) The boisterous crowd of merchants and farmers who assembled in downtown Sarnia the fateful afternoon of Aug. 21, 1872 were itching for a bare-knuckles political fight. They weren’t disappointed.
Sir John A. Macdonald, the first prime minister of Canada, had arrived in the gunboat Prince Edward the night before to prepare for the debate. The opponent was Alexander Mackenzie, a Sarnia stonemason, leader of the Liberals, and dogged nemesis. The federal election of 1872 had already proven to be a dirty mud-slinging affair. Sir John went on the offensive early, accusing Mackenzie of getting his hands dirty in a Lambton County oil swindle.
It wasn’t true, of course, but the accusation sparked a dust-up in Kingston, Ont. When a Liberal candidate called Macdonald a liar at a public meeting, the prime minister grabbed the man by the throat and only quick action by platform guests prevented an all-out brawl.
Such was the electric atmosphere into which Macdonald made his historic visit to Sarnia. According to The Observer reporter, the crowd came early on foot, on horseback, in wagons and by special trains. By noon the market square was thronged.
Mackenzie opened the showdown with a point-by-point denunciation of Macdonald. Here was a prime minister, Mackenzie thundered, whose spending was out of control, who had given British Columbia six representatives for 10,000 people while Lambton had one for 30,000, who had sullied his hands with double-dealing, who had bought votes with public housing.
“That’s another falsehood,” retorted Sir John, his face enraged. Mackenzie asked Macdonald to retract the allegation made in Kingston. “I won’t,” shouted Macdonald.
The insults and accusations went on all afternoon to the delight of the assembled townfolk and visitors. Night was falling when the exhausted prime minister finally walked to his waiting ship, The Observer noted.
Sir John A. Macdonald won the election of 1872 but he lost the war. Just days after leaving Sarnia, he contacted the CPR’s Sir Hugh Allan, and when the railway scandal broke the following year Macdonald was forced to resign in disgrace. Alexander Mackenzie took over and for the next five years ran a government that was honest and capable, if sometimes overshadowed by Macdonald’s flamboyant style.