James Albert Faulkner (October 7, 1877 April 27, 1944) was a Canadian medical practitioner, public servant and a cabinet Minister in the

Ontario government The government of Ontario (french: Gouvernement de l'Ontario) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Ontario. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown—represented in the province by the lieutenant governor� ...

Background

Faulkner was born in Stirling, Ontario and was of

United Empire Loyalist United Empire Loyalists (or simply Loyalists) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Quebec, and Governor General of The Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North America du ...

heritage. Initially graduating from

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...

in 1900 with a degree in arts, he went to McGill University for further education in medicine and graduated in 1904. He set up his medical practice at

Foxboro, Ontario Foxboro is a community located in southern Ontario, north of the centre of Belleville. It is just east of Highway 62 linking Belleville with Bancroft, and it has also direct road connections to and from Frankford, Stirling, and Plainfield vi ...

and stayed there until 1918 when he moved to Belleville. He served as the Medical Officer of Health for Thurlow Township for 27 years.

Politics

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maxi ...

he ran for the

Liberal Party of Ontario The Ontario Liberal Party (OLP; french: Parti libéral de l'Ontario, PLO) is a political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by interim leader John Fraser (Ontario MPP), John Fraser since August 2022. The party esp ...

Hastings West Hastings West was a federal electoral district in the province of Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1925. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867 which divided the County of Hast ...

, a predominantly Conservative riding, and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. He served as Minister of Health in

Mitchell Hepburn Mitchell Frederick Hepburn (August 12, 1896 – January 5, 1953) was the 11th premier of Ontario, from 1934 to 1942. He was the youngest premier in Ontario history, appointed at age 37. He was the only Ontario Liberal Party leader in the 20th cent ...

's government until the 1937 general election, where he was unable to be reelected. During his time as Minister, he was noted for being active in the fight against

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

mental disabilities Mental may refer to: * of or relating to the mind Films * ''Mental'' (2012 film), an Australian comedy-drama * ''Mental'' (2016 film), a Bangladeshi romantic-action movie * ''Mental'', a 2008 documentary by Kazuhiro Soda * ''Mental'', a 2014 O ...

and streptococcal infections. In 1935, he became involved in the controversy over the Essiac herbal compound, arranging for

Frederick Banting Sir Frederick Grant Banting (November 14, 1891 – February 21, 1941) was a Canadian medical scientist, physician, painter, and Nobel laureate noted as the co-discoverer of insulin and its therapeutic potential. In 1923, Banting and Joh ...

to evaluate its claims relating to cancer therapy, but Rene Caisse (Essiac's promoter) refused to cooperate.

Cabinet positions

Later life

Faulkner was later appointed as chairman of the Old Age Pension and Mothers' Allowance Board. He died in 1944 at the

Toronto General Hospital The Toronto General Hospital (TGH) is a major teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the flagship campus of University Health Network (UHN). It is located in the Discovery District of Downtown Toronto along University Avenue's Hospital ...

following a brief illness.

References

External links