Mackenzie King Estate

Discover an exceptional site — relive an extraordinary era!

William Lyon Mackenzie King was Canada’s 10th prime minister. During a career that spanned some fifty years — almost half of that as prime minister — King guided Canada along the path from semi-colonial status to complete autonomy.

Love Affair with the Canadian Landscape

A native of southwestern Ontario, Mackenzie King first visited the Gatineau Hills in 1900, shortly after his arrival in Ottawa, where he was a public servant. He fell in love with the wilderness scenery he discovered there and, in 1903, bought a small piece of land on Kingsmere Lake where he built a cottage, Kingswood. In time, he purchased more land and finally owned 231 hectares south of the lake, three summer cottages and a year-round residence. From 1903 to 1928, he spent virtually every summer at Kingswood. He spent his free time building, landscaping and maintaining his estate.

In 1928, Mackenzie King was in his third term as prime minister, and more certain of his political career. He moved to Moorside, a large elegant cottage where he received guests such as Winston Churchill and Charles Lindbergh. At Moorside, King expressed his romanticism, laying out formal flower beds, gathering a collection of picturesque ruins from Canada and abroad and tracing trails in the forest that can still be enjoyed today.

Passion for Architecture

During the last years of his life, King gave free rein to his passion for architecture and devoted himself to a new project — restoring a 19th-century farmhouse and transforming it into an elegant year-round residence. He settled at The Farm in 1943 and died there in 1950, only two years after he retired from politics after passing the reins of power to his heir-apparent, Louis St. Laurent. The Farm, which is not accessible to the public, is the official residence of the Speaker of the House of Commons. When he died, King bequeathed to Canadians his property in the Gatineau Hills, and it is around this land that his government established Gatineau Park, a nature reserve and green space that is vital to the oxygenation of Canada’s Capital.

To See and Do at the Estate

• Visit the restored cottages and meet with our interpreter-guides
• See films on Mackenzie King’s life and times
• Stroll in the gardens
• Photograph the ruins
• Admire the falls and panoramas
• Enjoy a light meal at the Moorside Tearoom