William Lyon Mackenzie

Mackenzie arrived in Upper Canada from Scotland in 1820 and established The Colonial Advocate newspaper, fearlessly attacking the corrupt oligarchic rule of the 'Family Compact'. Repeatedly expelled from the legislature by his political enemies, voters re-elected him each time, and in 1834 he became Toronto's inaugural mayor.

Frustrated by the intransigence of colonial authorities, Mackenzie drafted a declaration of independence and led several hundred armed rebels down Yonge Street in December 1837. Following defeat at Montgomery's Tavern, he fled to Navy Island and spent a decade in American exile before returning under amnesty.