He was born in 1841 at Sherbrooke Street in
Montreal. He was the son of John Gordon Mackenzie (1796–1881), a wealthy dry goods merchant and native of
Dingwall. Mackenzie's mother was a daughter of the
Hon. Horatio Yates. Mackenzie was educated at
McGill University and was called to the Lower Canada bar in 1862. Frederick Mackenzie was a captain in the militia and served during the
Fenian raids. He was a lay secretary for the
Church of England in Quebec and Montreal. His election in 1874 was declared void by reason of bribery by his agents; he was elected again in a by-election held in December that year. That election was also declared void and
Thomas Workman was elected in a
by-election held the following year. Mackenzie represented
Montreal West in the
House of Commons of Canada from 1874 to 1875 as a
Liberal member. ==References==