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‘Treating politics as a system of balance, not battle’: new book brings fresh insights into Mackenzie King and lessons for today’s leaders

Editor Patrice Dutil’s collection of essays in The Enduring Riddle of Mackenzie King dives into the former prime minister's personality, relationship with society, and policies—and why Canadian politicians ‘need to re-learn King’s statecraft.’

The Enduring Riddle of Mackenzie King is a new collection of essays edited by Patrice Dutil. The former prime minister is pictured in 1932 in Ottawa when he was opposition leader.Image courtesy of Patrice Dutil, photograph courtesy of Library and Archives Canada/Flickr

Feature

BY SAMANTHA WRIGHT ALLEN

December 8, 2025

Canada's longest-serving prime minister could offer a lesson for modern politicians who should study William Lyon Mackenzie King’s patient negotiation and political style that sought “balance, not battle,” and aversion for “ideological purity” in a regionally fract...

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