As the culmination of ten years of research and writing, Anton Wagner’s The Spiritualist Prime Minister (TSPM) reveals the extent to which William Lyon Mackenzie King (1874-1950), Canada’s longest-serving Prime Minister, was influenced by communication with spirits. For Canadians approaching 80, King was Prime Minister when they were born and the man who led Canada through the Great Depression and World War II. Since 1975, King has been remembered on our fifty dollar banknote.

The only known image of Mackenzie King alone with one of his mediums, the American direct-voice medium Etta Wriedt, at Kingsmere, August 28, 1934. Middle: King’s terrier Pat I. Credit: LAC C-9065
What has not been widely accepted until now is that King had more than a passing interest in Spiritualism and the occult, and that there is sufficient historical record to permit this two-volume biography. The meticulous research of Toronto-based scholar Aton Wagner has documented King’s more than 130 known interactions with mediums, psychics, fortune-tellers, palmists, astrologers, graphologists, phrenologists, and psychic investigators. King’s primary interest was communication with his deceased mother and others to whom he had been close during their lifetime, including political leaders.
The Spiritualist Prime Minister is the first major revisionist biography of Mackenzie King. Volume 1 discusses King’s pursuit of spirit communication within the international context of the proclamation by Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, that Spiritualism was “The New Revelation” to mankind (388 pp.; 50 images). Volume 2 documents King’s interactions between 1919 and 1950 with Spiritualists and psychic investigators in Canada, England, and the United States, including his Ottawa sittings with his close friend Joan Patteson (388 pp.; 46 images). The biography makes fascinating reading for everyone interested in political studies, in the realms of Spiritualism and psychology, and in examinations of power.
White Crow Books, in association with the Survival Research Institute of Canada (SRIC), are proud to announce publication of The Spiritualist Prime Minister for the 150th anniversary of King’s birth on the 17th of December 2024.
The Spiritualist Prime Minister is available for online purchase through amazon.ca. With both volumes in your shopping cart when you checkout or a Prime membership, you may qualify for free shipping. The Canadian suggested retail is $34.95 (softcover) and $9.99 (Kindle) for each volume.
Volume 1 – Purchase Now (ISBN 978-1786772640 (Softcover); ISBN 978-1786772657 (Kindle))
TSPM is also available from Canadian Booksellers who would be happy to receive your business. Before visiting, you should confirm store hours and whether TSPM is a stocked title or one that must be ordered for you.
Volume 2 – Purchase Now (ISBN 978-1786772664 (Softcover); ISBN 978-1786772671 (Kindle))
About the Author
Cultural historian Anton Wagner discovered the influence of Mackenzie King’s interest in Spiritualism during research about King’s dealings with Canadian and international artists. Well beyond the scope of his dissertation (PhD, York University, 2014), Wagner returned to King’s decade-long pursuit of spirit communication during the 2020 pandemic lockdown when hospitalizations and deaths from the Covid-19 virus were reported daily, and the possibility of sudden death seemed closer.
Praise for The Spiritualist Prime Minister
Extracts from The Spiritualist Prime Minister endorsements. For full text, see back cover of Volume 1 and Volume 2
“The Spiritualist Prime Minister sets a bar that few future biographers will be able to match when dealing with the esoteric exploits of a public figure.”
– Stanley Krippner, PhD, co-author, Personal Mythology: The Psychology of Your Evolving Self
“Anton Wagner extends the scholarship of psychic experience – a topic which has been purposefully written out of many modern histories. The Spiritualist Prime Minister adds to contemporary reassessments attesting to the significance of Spiritualism and its monumental impact on culture.”
– Shannon Taggart, author, Séance
“This masterly overview of the Canadian politician’s spiritual quest and his dialogues with major political figures – living and dead – about world events provides new insights that raise intriguing questions. ”
– Roy Stemman, author and former editor of Psychic News
“A monumental achievement in historical political biography. ”
– Professor Heidi Rimke, PhD, Sociology Department, University of Winnipeg