James Noble Allan (November 13, 1894 – May 9, 1992) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

from 1951 to 1975. He represented the riding of

Haldimand—Norfolk Haldimand—Norfolk is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1979 to 1997, and since 2004. The current Member of Parliament (MP) is Conservative Leslyn Lewis. Geogr ...

. He served as a cabinet minister in the government of

Leslie Frost Leslie Miscampbell Frost (September 20, 1895 – May 4, 1973) was a politician in Ontario, Canada, who served as the province's 16th premier from May 4, 1949, to November 8, 1961. Due to his lengthy tenure, he gained the nickname "Old Man O ...

Background

Allan was the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Canada in the Province of Ontario for the years 1966 and 1967. He also held a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree. He died in 1992 at the Haldimand War Memorial Hospital.

Politics

Allan served as

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Dunnville Dunnville is an unincorporated community located near the mouth of the Grand River in Haldimand County, Ontario, Canada near the historic Talbot Trail. It was formerly an incorporated town encompassing the surrounding area with a total populat ...

and Warden of

Haldimand County Haldimand County is a rural city-status single-tier municipality on the Niagara Peninsula in Southern Ontario, Canada, on the north shore of Lake Erie, and on the Grand River. Despite its name, it is no longer a county by definition, as all m ...

along with various other municipal posts. In the 1951 provincial election, Allan ran as the Progressive Conservative candidate in the riding of

. He defeated

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Elmo Riddle by 2,455 votes. He was re-elected five more times before losing to Liberal Gord Miller in 1975. In 1955, he was appointed by Ontario Premier

to the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

as Minister of Highways. At the time, this was the government's largest department, and Allan oversaw a budget of $200 million. He was in charge of 8,000 employees. During his term, 10,000 miles of highways were built. In 1958, Allan became Frost's finance minister, and introduced the province's first

sales tax A sales tax is a tax paid to a governing body for the sales of certain goods and services. Usually laws allow the seller to collect funds for the tax from the consumer at the point of purchase. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a govern ...

, nicknamed the "Frost bite" at a rate of 3%. When Frost retired, Allan ran in the 1961 PC leadership convention, placing fourth. Allan had the title of Treasurer in the new cabinet of

John Robarts John Parmenter Robarts (January 11, 1917 – October 18, 1982) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th premier of Ontario from 1961 to 1971. He was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. Early life Roba ...

until 1966 when he entered semi-retirement at the age of 71 and became a

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...

. He was the last Ontario finance minister to report a budget surplus until the late 1990s. He retired from cabinet altogether in 1968, although he kept his seat in the legislature until retiring from politics altogether following his defeat in the 1975 election. From 1967 until 1988, Allan served as Chair of the

Niagara Parks Commission The Niagara Parks Commission, commonly shortened to Niagara Parks, is an agency of the Government of Ontario which maintains the Ontario shoreline of the Niagara River. History The Commission was founded in 1885 and charged with preserving and ...

. On his 90th birthday the

Burlington Skyway Bridge The Burlington Bay James N. Allan Skyway, originally called the Burlington Bay Skyway and simply known as the Burlington Skyway, is a pair of high-level freeway bridges (built in 1958 and 1985) spanning the Burlington Bay Canal. The Skyway, as ...

was officially renamed the "Burlington Bay James N. Allan Skyway".

Cabinet posts

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allan, James 1894 births 1992 deaths Finance ministers of Ontario Members of the Executive Council of Ontario Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs