Sir Alexander Mackenzie Senior Public School is named after Sir Alexander Mackenzie, a late-18th-century explorer, fur trader, and member of the Legislature of Lower Canada.

Guided by the geographic knowledge, river navigation, and trail expertise shared by Indigenous peoples, Mackenzie charted vast regions of Canada. He became the first European to cross North America overland, reaching the Arctic Ocean in 1789 and the Pacific Ocean in 1793. Today, his legacy endures through Canada’s longest river system, the Mackenzie River, which bears his name.