Canadas second prime minister Alexander Mackenzie, was a nation builder of a literal sort. When he became Canadas first Liberal prime minister in 1873, he brought with him both his stonemasons skill and his democratics principles. Born in Perthshire, Scotland, he emigrated to Canada in 1842 to follow his sweethart, Helen Neil. Trained as a stonemason, he soon founded work in the rapidly growing provinces of Canada East and West. One of his first jobs was to build a bombproof stone arch at Fort Henry in Kingston. his next task was working on the Beauharnois Canal near Montreal. Many of the monuments raised by Mackenzie still stand in Ontario; the Welland Canal, the martello towers at Fort Henry, the Episcopal Church and bank in Sarnia courthouses and jails in Chatham amd Sandwich.While cutting stone on Wolfe Island one winter, he crossed the ice every Saturday night to visit Helen, who was living with her Parents in Kingston. One night, Mackenzie arrived halffrozen and soaking wet, haven fallen through the ice in the darkness. But this narrow brush with drowning did not deter the ardent Alexander. He continued his visits, but carried a pole to help him out of the lake

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