Heming, Arthur (1932) - Mackenzie Crossing the Rockies [Oil on canvas] ©Government of Ontario Art Collection, Archives of Ontario
Sir Alexander Mackenzie (1764-1820) was an explorer and fur-trader for the North West Company, a powerful rival to the Hudson's Bay Company in the exploitation of the northern wilderness.
In May 1793, Mackenzie, accompanied by a North West Company clerk, 6 French-Canadian voyageurs and two Indigenous hunter/interpreters set out from a camp in present-day Alberta to follow an arduous route across the Rocky Mountains to become the first European to cross North America north of Mexico and reach the Pacific Ocean. Their journey took seventy four days and covered 1,287 km on foot and canoe, ending on July 22, 1793.