He oversaw a massive increase in Canada's naval forces and played a key role in a political crisis that threatened to tear the Liberal government and the country apart. He also incurred the wrath of Mackenzie King, a political leader whom Macdonald grew to loathe. When he entered the federal cabinet in 1940, Macdonald seemed a likely candidate to replace the aging King and one day become prime minister himself.[86] By the time he resigned in 1945, Macdonald's federal political career was in tatters.[88]