Background
Mackenzie was born in Presqu’ile, Ontario and was educated at Owen Sound Collegiate and Vocational Institute and Queen's University where he earned a bachelor of arts
Mackenzie was born in Presqu’ile, Ontario and was educated at Owen Sound Collegiate and Vocational Institute and Queen's University where he earned a bachelor of arts
He served during World War I with the Queen's University Hospital Unit from 1915 to 1916 in Egypt and the Dardanelles. He was subsequently a Lieutenant with the Canadian Field Artillery from 1916 to 1919. Following the war he returned to Canada and settled in Neepawa, Manitoba where he worked as a teacher and became a school principal.
In the 1935 federal election he ran as a Liberal candidate in Neepawa and was returned to the Canadian House of Commons.
He was re-elected in the 1940 federal election but defeated in the 1945 election by Progressive Conservative leader and former Manitoba Premier John Bracken. He died in 1970 in Ottawa.