1834
Originally from Dundee, Scotland, William Lyon Mackenzie moved to York in Upper Canada and established a newspaper called the “Colonial Advocate”. He used the paper to write about his opposition to the “Family Compact” – the ruling political elite in the colony. Mackenzie set his sights on reform politics and was elected to the Legislature, although his angry outbursts during debates eventually got him expelled from the House. Upon the incorporation of the City of Toronto in 1834, he was elected its first mayor. In the 1830s, mounting frustration with the government brought him ever closer to radical action for change.