Prime Minister Mackenzie King's Cottage

Five generations of the Sanderson family have made memories in Prince Albert National Park and in this cottage. Of course there is a story behind the construction, ownership, and use of the cottage. 

The connection started in the days of James Sanderson who arrived in Prince Albert in 1876. He established his business, Sanderson Lumber, and his home on River Street. James was very involved in the Prince Albert Liberal Association. When Prime Minister Mackenzie King lost his own seat of North York in the 1925 election he needed a safe seat to contest in a by-election. Just like Sir Wilfred Laurier 30 years before him, he won the seat by a landslide victory in Prince Albert with the help of some active, high power Liberals. In return, PM King endorsed the creation of a national park north of the city in what was then the Sturgeon Forest Reserve. The creation of a national park was an idea that had been worked on for many years by the Prince Albert Board of Trade as well as the former mayor of PA, T.C. Davis. Once it received the endorsement of the federal government under PM King, it became a reality. 

The Prince Albert National Park was created from land in the Sturgeon Forest Reserve encompassing the lakes of Waskesiu, Kingsmere, and Crean. The Park was enlarged to its current size in later years (1929 and 1947). In preparation for the grand opening, James managed the building of a log cottage for the Prime Minister on Prospect Point in Waskesiu. He supplied the logs from his lumber camp south at Shady Lake and other communities supplied the furnishings. Family members say that PM King stayed in the cottage on two occasions. There was a guest book kept in the early days. PM King wrote a lovely letter of appreciation to the James Sanderson as he returned to Ottawa after officiating at the opening ceremonies of the Park on August 10 and 11, 1928.

James’s son Jim had the responsibility of looking after the upkeep of the cottage and arranging rentals in July and August. He also worked hard to keep PM King elected. The maintenance expenses cost more than the rental receipts. When PM King died, he left the cabin to Jim Sanderson and the family has enjoyed using it ever since.

“Mackenzie King’s failure to maintain a close association with Prince Albert National Park, let alone use his cottage, suggests that the creation of the park was largely a political reward. The prime minister needed a safe seat and struck a deal with leading Liberals in Prince Albert, many of whom were also on the local Board of Trade. Once the park had been established, King believed he had fulfilled his side of the bargain – nothing more was required. In fact, he was quite content to let the local riding association look after constituency matters and he eventually lost the seat in 1945. As for the citizens’ committee, they were probably not overly upset that King was an infrequent visitor to the park. Granted, they appreciated his efforts and said so with the gift of the cabin.  The most important thing, however, was that the city not only secured a national park but had done so in the area and with the boundaries that it wanted. Despite Harkin’s concern [National Park commissioner at the time] about the name, it really was Prince Albert’s park.” (Waiser, 35)

This information is paraphrased from an article written by Heather Wilson in the Prince Albert Daily Herald on Saturday, May 26, 2001.

Also consulted was Saskatchewan’s Playground: A History of Prince Albert National Park by Bill Waiser, Fifth House Publishers, Saskatoon, SK, 1989. The above quote comes from Page 35.