William John Hanna, (October 13, 1862 – March 20, 1919) was a lawyer and political figure 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 represented

Lambton West Lambton West was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1883 to 1968. It was located in the province of Ontario. This riding was created from parts of Lambton riding. The West Riding of the county of ...

in 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 1902 to 1919 as 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. Hanna served as Acting Premier of Ontario from 25 September 1914 to 2 October 1914, after the death of Sir James Whitney, before Sir William Hearst.

Background

He was born in Adelaide Township, Middlesex County,

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...

, the son of George Hanna and Jane Murdock, and moved to Brooke Township in

Lambton County Lambton County is a county in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is bordered on the north by Lake Huron, which is drained by the St. Clair River, the county's western border and part of the Canada-United States border. To the south is Lake Saint Cla ...

with his family in 1871. He attended Sarnia Collegiate Institute and, after graduating, taught at a primary school near his home for three years. He then studied law 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, ...

Toronto, Ontario 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 ...

, was called to the bar in 1890 and set up practice in Sarnia. He married Jean Gibson Neil in 1891, in

Point Edward, Ontario Point Edward is a village in the Canadian province of Ontario. Adjacent to the city of Sarnia in Lambton County, Point Edward sits opposite Port Huron, Michigan and is connected to it by the Blue Water Bridge, at the meeting point of the St. Cl ...

. They had one son, William Neil. He then married Maud MacAdams, in

Sarnia, Ontario Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes where Lake Huron flo ...

in 1896 after the death of his first wife. In 1908, Hanna was named

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

. He served as counsel and director for the

Imperial Oil Imperial Oil Limited (French: ''Compagnie Pétrolière Impériale Ltée'') is a Canadian petroleum company. It is Canada's second-biggest integrated oil company. It is majority owned by American oil company ExxonMobil with around 69.6 percent ...

Company in Sarnia.

Politics

Hanna was unsuccessful in the federal elections of 1896 and 1900 before being elected to the provincial assembly in 1902. He served as Provincial Secretary and Registrar from 1905 to 1916. In 1915, Hanna initiated an overhaul of Ontario's prison systems by closing down facilities which treated prisoners harshly, and he took special interest in improving the operations of prisons in Ontario to be more humane. That legacy remains in Toronto's

Liberty Village Liberty Village is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is bordered to the north by King Street West, to the west by Dufferin Street, to the south by the Gardiner Expressway, to the east by Strachan Avenue, and to the northeast by the ...

whose name comes from the neighbourhood's main road, Liberty Street, near the former site of Toronto's Central Prison, which was closed by Hanna. In 1916, Hanna introduced the Ontario Temperance Act, which prohibited the sale of

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

except for medicinal purposes or use in church services for the remainder of

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 ...

. Hanna also served as an adviser to Prime Minister

Robert Laird Borden Sir Robert Laird Borden (June 26, 1854 – June 10, 1937) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920. He is best known for his leadership of Canada during World War I. Borde ...

. In 1917, he was named food controller for Canada, charged with dealing with food shortages and inflation near the end of the war. He resigned from his position in January 1918 due to poor health. However, he became president of Imperial Oil later that year. Near the end of 1918, the Hanna family had been shaken by the death in Italy of his son, William Neil, a Royal Air Force lieutenant. Hanna went south for the winter to deal with the shock and his own failing health. While in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...

, he suffered a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

and died. After a Methodist service, he was buried in Lakeview Cemetery in

Sarnia Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes where Lake Huron fl ...

Legacy

Hanna Avenue in

, site of the Central Prison for which he closed, is named in his honour.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanna, William John 1862 births 1919 deaths Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs Provincial Secretaries of Ontario Canadian King's Counsel