William Edmund Newton Sinclair (June 28, 1873 – November 26, 1947), known as W. E. N. Sinclair, was a Canadian barrister, solicitor and interim leader of the Ontario Liberal Party.

Background

Sinclair was born in

Whitby Township, Ontario Whitby Township is a geographic township and former municipality in what was Ontario County (now Durham Region), Ontario, Canada. It is now part of the Town of Whitby. The Township was established in as part of what was then York County. Whit ...

, the son of John Sinclair, and was educated at Toronto University, receiving a bachelor's degree in law. In 1907, he married Ella Minerva Montgomery; he married Edna Worden in 1918 after his first wife's death.

Politics

Sinclair was first elected to 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 ...

as a candidate of the Ontario Liberal Party in the 1911 provincial election but was defeated in

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...

. He returned to politics in the 1917 federal election on

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

(see

Conscription Crisis of 1917 The Conscription Crisis of 1917 (french: Crise de la conscription de 1917) was a political and military crisis in Canada during World War I. It was mainly caused by disagreement on whether men should be conscripted to fight in the war, but also b ...

), Sinclair ran on as part of the anti-conscription " Laurier Liberals" but was again defeated. He returned to provincial politics and was elected again to the Ontario legislature in the 1919 provincial election as the MLA for the riding of Ontario South. Sinclair ran for the leadership of the party in the 1922 leadership convention, but lost to

Wellington Hay Francis Wellington Hay (November 17, 1864 – April 1, 1932) was a grain merchant and Canadian politician. Hay was born in Listowel, Canada West, the son of William G. Hay. He worked for the Federal Bank for three years before entering the famil ...

. Hay resigned following a disastrous election result, and Sinclair served as interim leader of the Ontario Liberal Party from 1923 to 1930 and also as

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

in the provincial legislature. He was interim leader for that length of time (and through the elections of

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of V ...

and

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

) because of the party's state of disorganization and inability to hold a proper leadership convention. The Liberals remained at the 14 seats they had in 1926, and dropped to 13 seats in the 1929 election. Sinclair initially decided to run for the permanent leadership in 1930, but because of the party's failure to make gains during his tenure, he attracted little support, and withdrew before balloting began. He remained

until the 1934 election because the newly elected leader, Mitchell Hepburn, did not have a seat in the provincial legislature. Sinclair was re-elected in the 1934 election that brought the Liberals to power but Hepburn, the new

Premier of Ontario The premier of Ontario (french: premier ministre de l'Ontario) is the head of government of Ontario. Under the Westminster system, the premier governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Legislative Assembly of On ...

, did not appoint him to

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 ...

. Sinclair sat as a government

backbench In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...

er for three years and then retired from the legislature at the 1937 provincial election. In the 1945 federal election, Sinclair was elected to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

for the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...

. He died in office in 1947. Sinclair also served as mayor of

Oshawa Oshawa ( , also ; 2021 population 175,383; CMA 415,311) is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of Downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the G ...

from 1910 to 1911, in 1915 and from 1932 to 1934.

References

* ''Canadian Parliamentary Guide, 1922'', EJ Chambers

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sinclair, W.E.N. 1873 births 1947 deaths Canadian Presbyterians Ontario Liberal Party MPPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Liberal Party of Canada MPs Leaders of the Ontario Liberal Party Mayors of Oshawa University of Toronto alumni