King-Byng Affair

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King vs. Total Control: The King-Byng Affair

William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canada’s longest serving prime minister, is known for both the great contributions he brought to Canada and for the scandals he was involved in. The one event that makes him most famous to Canadians is the King-Byng Affair of 1926. During this event, Mackenzie King asked Lord Byng to dissolve parliament in order to force a new election as he had lost with a minority. Because King’s intentions were to regain a majority government, Byng refused out of distrust for King’s plans and King was replaced in power by the Conservatives. While William Lyon Mackenzie King’s actions were in accordance with all the laws regarding his power as Prime Minister, he acted for selfish reasons thus putting him in the wrong. Mackenzie King’s and Lord Byng’s histories will be quickly analyzed to understand their actions in the affair. Right after, King’s options and reasons for dissolving parliament will be analyzed. Thirdly, Byng’s options and reasons for refusing King’s request will be researched. Once enough evidence has been collected, the end results of this affair will be discussed and the conclusion as to whether or not King was right to go against responsible government will be made.
William Lyon Mackenzie King was born in Kitchener, Ontario on December 17, 1874. His father was an unsuccessful lawyer who was not well off but who continuously provided for his family by living above his means. Mackenzie King’s mother was the daughter of William Lyon Mackenzie who was a leader of the Rebellion of 1837 which was fighting for responsible government. King’s mother continuously reminded her children of the trials her father had gone through and pushed them to continue...

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...ment dissolved after having the head of state pass a vote of non-confidence in Meighen. This time, Byng accepted to dissolve the Parliament and elections were called. Because the Conservatives campaigned the fact that the Liberals were corrupt and the Liberals campaigned on Canadian rights and how the British should not be able to interfere with how Canada wanted to rule itself, King’s Liberals won the next election and went back into power. Though these events are all facts of what happened, King had several options to choose from before asking to dissolve Government.
William Lyon Mackenzie King had three main options available to him after losing the 1925 elections to the Conservatives which he pondered deeply on for several days before making his final decision. The first of his options was to just resign as Prime Minister and allow the Conservatives to rule.

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