William Herbert Price (May 25, 1877 – December 21, 1963) was a 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 ...

, Canada. He was a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

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 1914 to 1937 who represented the

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

riding of Parkdale. He served as

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

and

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

in the governments of

Howard Ferguson George Howard Ferguson, PC (June 18, 1870 – February 21, 1946) was the ninth premier of Ontario, from 1923 to 1930. He was a Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1905 to 1930 who represented the eastern provincia ...

and

George Stewart Henry George Stewart Henry (July 16, 1871 – September 2, 1958) was a farmer, businessman and politician in Ontario, Canada. He served as the tenth premier of Ontario from 1930 to 1934. He had acted as minister of highways while Ontario greatly ex ...

Background

He was born in

Owen Sound, Ontario Owen Sound ( 2021 Census population 21,612) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The county seat of Grey County, it is located at the mouths of the Pottawatomi and Sydenham Rivers on an inlet of Georgian Bay. The primary tourist attractio ...

, the son of William H. Price. He taught school for several years, then studied at

Osgoode Hall Osgoode Hall is a landmark building in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The original -storey building was started in 1829 and finished in 1832 from a design by John Ewart and William Warren Baldwin. The structure is named for William Osgoode, ...

and the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

. He was called to the Ontario bar in 1904 and went on to practice as a barrister and solicitor. In 1910, he married Alice Gentles. They had three sons; his middle son, Captain John Gentles Price, of the 1st Battalion

Queen's Own Rifles The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada is a Primary Reserve regiment of the Canadian Armed Forces, based in Toronto. The regiment is part of 4th Canadian Division's 32 Canadian Brigade Group. It is the only reserve regiment in Canada to currently have a ...

, was killed in action on September 8, 1944, in France during World War II. During World War I, while still serving as an MLA, he also served as a Lieutenant-Colonel for the 204th Battalion of the Canadian Infantry from 1916 until March 1917, after which he was posted to the British army.

Politics

Price was elected in the 1914 provincial election in the Toronto riding of Parkdale. In 1916 he took a leave of absence to join the army to fight in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He easily won re-election in the

1919 Ontario general election The 1919 Ontario general election, held on October 20, 1919, elected 111 Members of the 15th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ("MLAs"). The United Farmers of Ontario captured the most seats but only a minority of the legislature. They joined with 11 ...

, even though he spent the previous few years in Europe and not in the legislature. He won re-election, again in the 1923 election that saw

United Farmers of Ontario The United Farmers of Ontario (UFO) was an agrarian and populist provincial political party in Ontario, Canada. It was the Ontario provincial branch of the United Farmers movement of the early part of the 20th century. History Foundation and r ...

government fall to his party's Conservatives. He was appointed as

from 1923 to 1926. He was re-elected again in 1926, and was appointed as the

Attorney General of Ontario The Attorney General of Ontario is the chief legal adviser to His Majesty the King in Right of Ontario and, by extension, the Government of Ontario. The Attorney General is a senior member of the Executive Council of Ontario (the cabinet) and ...

from 1926 to 1934. After being re-elected in the 1934 Ontario general election, he remained one of the few Conservative cabinet members to remain in the Legislature, as the Liberals won the most seats and formed a majority government. Even though he was presumed to be the leading contender to become the Conservative party's leader, Price announced in May 1936 that he would not seek re-election and would retire at the end of the legislative session. His decision came about two-weeks before the Conservatives were to pick a new leader, and turned it into a wide-open contest.

Cabinet posts

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Price, William 1877 births 1963 deaths Attorneys General of Ontario Finance ministers of Ontario People from Owen Sound Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs University of Toronto alumni

Background

Politics

Cabinet posts

References

Further reading

External links