Alexander Mackenzie

Have you ever heard of the first European to the travel in the northern part of Alberta who was an explorer, fur trader and a voyager?

Alexander was a young ten-year-old boy when his mother died. He lived in Scotland when he was young. He had only two sisters, Sybilla, Margaret, an older brother Murdoch and a father, Kenneth.

Alexander and his family sailed to New York because they were poor in Scotland. But there was a war in New York so they moved to Montreal. That was when Alexander became interested in fur trading and exploring and joined the North West Company. In 1789, he set off to northwest Alberta in a canoe and his goal was to find the Pacific Ocean, but instead he found the Arctic Ocean. He went back to England to learn about navigation.

He came back to Alberta in 1792 to try to find the Pacific Ocean and this time he found it. Alexander used native Indians to help him with paddling, as they knew the rivers well He also used mapmaking instruments to help him with directions. At night and by candlelight, Alexander Mackenzie would copy his route onto paper and these maps are helpful even today.

The greatest contribution that Alexander made to Alberta was to discover new land in northern Alberta like the Mackenzie River. He was also a mapmaker and his discoveries helped modern day geologists who depend on past records.

We remember Alexander Mackenzie today because the longest river in Canada, the Mackenzie River was named after him. Also, the Mackenzie Highway was named after Alexander Mackenzie.

Alison R. (Grade 3) studied Alexander Mackenzie. If you have any questions for her write to her c/o Mr. Reid (jcreid@cbe.ab.ca) or Ms. McKenzie (semckenzie@cbe.ab.ca) and look for her response on our Question and Answer Page.