William Thomas White
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Sir William Thomas White,
GCMG The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...
, PC (UK), PC (Can) (November 13, 1866 – February 11, 1955), 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 and
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 ...
minister.


Biography

White worked as a reporter for the ''
Toronto Evening Telegram ''The Toronto Evening Telegram'' was a conservative, broadsheet afternoon newspaper published in Toronto from 1876 to 1971. It had a reputation for supporting the Conservative Party at the federal and the provincial levels. The paper competed wi ...
'' in 1890, and subsequently worked for Toronto's Assessment Department. He received a
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree from 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 ...
in 1895, and a law degree from
Osgoode Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The law school is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the Journal of Law and Social Policy, and the '' Osgoode Hall L ...
in 1899. White did not practice law after his graduation, but instead worked as a Managing Director for the National Trust Company, Ltd., becoming its Vice-President in 1911. National Trust was incorporated in 1898 by Senator
George Albertus Cox George Albertus Cox (May 7, 1840 – January 16, 1914) was a very prominent Canadian businessman and a member of the Senate of Canada. Life and career He was born in Colborne, Upper Canada, in 1840. He began work as a telegrapher for the Mont ...
and
Edward Rogers Wood Edward Rogers Wood (May 11, 1866 – June 16, 1941) was a prominent financier in Canadian business. He was notable for his role in the development of the Brazilian Traction, Light and Power Company Limited (later Brascan Limited, then amalgamated ...
. National Trust Company, Ltd. became part of
Bank of Nova Scotia The Bank of Nova Scotia (french: link=no, Banque de Nouvelle-Écosse), operating as Scotiabank (french: link=no, Banque Scotia), is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. One of Canada ...
as Scotia Trust in 1997. White was initially a
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 ...
party member, but his views diverged from the party's policies on some key matters. He was a supporter of British
imperialism Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...
, and joined
Clifford Sifton Sir Clifford Sifton, (March 10, 1861 – April 17, 1929), was a Canadian lawyer and a long-time Liberal politician, best known for being Minister of the Interior under Sir Wilfrid Laurier. He was responsible for encouraging the massive amount ...
and other Liberals in signing an anti - reciprocity manifesto in 1911. Although he had few allies in the
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
, White was respected by party leader
Robert 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 ...
, who recognized that White's presence would bring some disaffected Liberals to the party. After winning the general election of 1911, Borden appointed White as his
Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
. White did not hold a seat in 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 ...
at the time, and in fact had never campaigned for public office before. Nevertheless, he was elected by acclamation in a
by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
in the eastern
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 ...
riding of
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
, after another Conservative
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) was convinced to resign. White was responsible for managing Canada's finances during
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 ...
. His approach was conservative, and he was reluctant to interfere with private enterprise or even to raise taxes in the early period of the war. Although he eventually made some interventions (including fixed profit margins and regulated food supplies), he continued to reject fundamental changes in the nation's finances. One exception was the introduction in 1917 of an
income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...
of 4% on all income of single men over $2,000; for Canadians with annual incomes of more than $6,000, the tax rate ranged from 2 to 25 per cent. Though it was intended as a temporary war measure and despite White's recommendation that "a year or two after the war is over, the measure should be reviewed by the minister of finance of the day, with a view of judging whether it is suitable to the conditions which then prevail," income tax became a permanent feature of Canadian life. In 1919, he approved the use of naval warships to suppress post-war labour radicalism in
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, ...
. White served as Finance Minister until August 1, 1919. From November 1918 to May 1919, he also served as Acting
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
while Borden was in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. Several members of Borden's Unionist government (a wartime coalition of the Conservative Party and some Liberals) called on White to replace Borden as Prime Minister in 1920, but he declined. In the 1920 New Year Honours, as a reward for his service as Acting Prime Minister, White was appointed to the
Imperial Privy Council The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...
, allowing him to use the honorific "The Right Honourable". He remained a Member of Parliament until the 1921 election when he retired from politics. Later in the year, he published a pamphlet entitled ''The Story of Canada's War Finances'', defending his management of the wartime economy. White did not consider himself as a "career politician". His tenure as Finance Minister was very stressful, and he seems to have welcomed the opportunity to leave political life after the war's end. There is no indication that he entertained a return to politics in later years. In 1933 he served as a member of the
Royal Commission on Banking and Currency The Royal Commission on Banking and Currency (also known as the Macmillan Commission) was a 1933 Canadian royal commission tasked with reviewing the Canadian government's involvement in monetary policy. Chaired by Scottish jurist Hugh Macmillan, ...
. He opposed the creation of the Bank of Canada.


Archives

There is a Sir William Thomas White
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at
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.


Footnotes


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:White, William Thomas 1866 births 1955 deaths Canadian Ministers of Finance Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Canadian Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Canadian members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Lawyers in Ontario University of Toronto alumni