Sir William Howard Hearst

Article by

Brian D. Tennyson

Date Published	June 20, 2007
Last Edited	March 4, 2015

The Honourable Sir William Howard Hearst, premier of Ontario 1914 - 1919 (courtesy Archives of Ontario).

Hearst, Sir William Howard

Sir William Howard Hearst, lawyer, politician, premier of Ontario (b in Arran Twp, Canada W 15 Feb 1864; d at Toronto 29 Sept 1941). A lawyer in Sault Ste Marie, he was elected a Conservative MPP in 1908. A leading spokesman for northern Ontario, he entered the Cabinet of Sir James P. WHITNEY as minister of lands, forests and mines in 1911. He played an important role in the negotiations that in 1912 added the Keewatin Territory to Ontario, increasing the province's size by 56%, and succeeded to the premiership in 1914. A strong supporter of the war effort (he was knighted for his contribution in 1917), he also enfranchised women, enacted prohibition, established a department of labour and authorized construction of the Queenston hydroelectric plant, the largest in the world when it opened in 1921, establishing ONTARIO HYDRO as the province's primary producer of electricity. When his government was defeated in 1919, he resumed his law practice. He served on the INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION from 1920-40.