William Wallace Burns McInnes (April 8, 1871 – August 4, 1954) 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 A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

, lawyer and served as the fifth

commissioner of Yukon The commissioner of Yukon (french: Commissaire du Yukon) is the representative of the Government of Canada in the Canadian federal territory of Yukon. The commissioner is appointed by the federal government and, in contrast to the governor gene ...

. Born in

Dresden, Ontario Dresden is an agricultural community in southwestern Ontario, Canada, part of the municipality of Chatham-Kent. It is located on the Sydenham River. The community is named after Dresden, Germany. The major crops in the area are wheat, soybeans, ru ...

, the son of

Thomas Robert McInnes Thomas Robert McInnes or (Gaelic) Tòmas Raibeart Mac Aonghais (November 5, 1840 – March 15, 1904) was a Canadian physician, Member of Parliament, Senator, and the sixth Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia. He was the father of the ...

, McInnes entered the

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

at the age of 14 and graduated in 1889, the youngest graduate to that date. After studying 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 Osgood ...

, he was called to the

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Bar in 1893 and practiced law in Nanaimo and

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, McInnes won the federal constituency of Vancouver in

1896 Events January–March * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that ...

and sat in the House of Commons of Canada in Ottawa. In 1900, he represented Port Alberni in the British Columbia Legislature for five years. In

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, he served as provincial secretary and Minister of Education. On May 27, 1905, McInnes was appointed to the office of Commissioner in the Yukon Territory. His term in office was said to be one of reform and stability, in contrast to the term of his predecessor, Frederick Tennyson Congdon. He was said to be one of the most popular politicians in the Yukon in the early 1900s. However, on December 31, 1906, McInnes had resigned and looking to sit once again in the House of Commons. J. T. Lithgow took over as Acting Commissioner until a successor to McInnes could be appointed. McInnes never again sat in the House. He tried in 1908, 1917 and 1921, only to be defeated on all occasions. In 1909, McInnes became a judge when he was appointed to the County Court of Vancouver between 1909 and 1917. He served as

police magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

for ten years, beginning in 1944, and was known for the severity of his sentences. William Wallace Burns McInnes died in Vancouver in 1954.

References

William Wallace Burns McInnes
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available f ...

*
History of the Yukon Commissioners

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McInnes, William Wallace Burns 1871 births 1954 deaths British Columbia Liberal Party MLAs Commissioners of Yukon Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia University of Toronto alumni