James Allan (Canadian politician)

James Allan
Ontario MPP
In office 1951–1975
Preceded by	Charles Martin
Succeeded by	Gord Miller
Constituency	Haldimand—Norfolk
Personal details
Born	James Noble Allan November 13, 1894 Canborough, Ontario, Canada
Died	May 9, 1992 (aged 97) Dunnville, Ontario
Political party	Progressive Conservative

James Noble Allan (November 13, 1894 – May 9, 1992) was a politician in Ontario, Canadian. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1951 to 1975. He represented the riding of Haldimand—Norfolk. He served as a cabinet minister in the government of Leslie Frost.

Background

Allan was the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Ontario for the years 1966 and 1967. He also held a Bachelor of Science degree. He died in 1992 at the Haldimand War Memorial Hospital.^[1]

Politics

Allan served as Mayor of Dunnville and Warden of Haldimand County along with various other municipal posts.^[2]

In the 1951 provincial election, Allan ran as the Progressive Conservative candidate in the riding of Haldimand—Norfolk. He defeated Liberal Elmo Riddle by 2,455 votes.^[3] He was re-elected five more times before losing to Liberal Gord Miller in 1975.^[4]

In 1955, he was appointed by Ontario Premier Leslie Frost to the cabinet as Minister of Highways. At the time, this was the government's largest department, and Allan oversaw a budget of $200 million. He was in charge of 8,000 employees. During his term, 10,000 miles of highways were built.

In 1958, Allan became Frost's finance minister, and introduced the province's first sales tax, nicknamed the "Frost bite" at a rate of 3%. When Frost retired, Allan ran in the 1961 PC leadership convention, placing fourth.

Allan had the title of Treasurer in the new cabinet of John Robarts until 1966 when he entered semi-retirement at the age of 71 and became a minister without portfolio. He was the last Ontario finance minister to report a budget surplus until the late 1990s. He retired from cabinet altogether in 1968, although he kept his seat in the legislature until retiring from politics altogether when the 1975 election was called.

From 1967 until 1988, Allan served as Chair of the Niagara Parks Commission. On his 90th birthday the Burlington Skyway Bridge was officially renamed the "Burlington Bay James N. Allan Skyway".

Cabinet posts

References

1. "Deaths: James N. Allan". The Globe and Mail. May 11, 1992. p. A10.
3. Canadian Press (November 22, 1951). "Complete Ontario Vote". The Montreal Gazette (Montreal). p. 4.
4. "Table of vote results for all Ontario ridings". The Globe and Mail. September 19, 1975. p. C12.

External links

• Ontario Legislative Assembly Parliamentarian History