John Walter Jones

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John Walter Jones (April 14, 1878 – March 31, 1954) was a politician and farmer in Prince Edward Island, Canada. An agronomist, he was instrumental in introducing the potato crop to the island, which was to become a staple of the economy. In 1935, he received the King George V medal as the best farmer in the province.

John Walter Jones
20th Premier of Prince Edward Island
In office
May 11, 1943 – May 25, 1953
MonarchsGeorge VI
Elizabeth II
Lieutenant GovernorBradford W. LePage
Joseph A. Bernard
T. William L. Prowse
Preceded byThane A. Campbell
Succeeded byAlex W. Matheson
Leader of the Prince Edward Island Liberal Party
In office
May 11, 1943 – May 25, 1953
Preceded byThane Campbell
Succeeded byAlex W. Matheson
MLA (Councillor) for District of 4th Queens
In office
July 23, 1935 – May 25, 1953
Preceded byCallum J. Bruce
Succeeded byHarold P. Smith
Senator for Queen's, Prince Edward Island
In office
May 25, 1953 – March 31, 1954
Appointed byLouis St. Laurent
Personal details
Born(1878-04-14)April 14, 1878
Pownal, Prince Edward Island
DiedMarch 31, 1954(1954-03-31) (aged 75)
Ottawa, Ontario
NationalityCanadian
Political partyLiberal
Spouse
Katherine Francis Bovyer
(m. 1909)
Children5
ResidenceBunbury, Prince Edward Island
Alma materAcadia University
OccupationFarmer, scientist, and teacher
ProfessionPolitician
CabinetMinister of Public Welfare and Minister in Charge of Air Raid Precautions (1943–1944)
Minister of Agriculture (1944–1945)
Minister of Education (1945–1950) (1951–1953)
Minister of Reconstruction (1945–1949)
Provincial Secretary-Treasurer (1949–1950)
Minister of Public Works and Highways (1950)
J. Walter Jones (3rd to the left) at the Dominion-Provincial Conference on Reconstruction

Born in Pownal, he first ran for public office in the 1921 federal election as a Farmer-Progressive candidate, but failed to win a seat in the House of Commons of Canada.

He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island as a Liberal in 1935. In 1943, he became the 20th premier of the province when Thane A. Campbell was appointed Chief Justice of the PEI Supreme Court.

The government of "Farmer Jones" repealed strict prohibition, and created the PEI Liquor Control Commission to regulate the sale of liquor. He had to proceed by order-in-council because the lieutenant governor, as a prohibitionist, refused to give Royal Assent to the necessary legislation. In 1947, his government broke a strike at Canada Packers, a meat-packing plant, by seizing the plant, employing strike-breakers and outlawing trade union affiliation with national or international unions in the name of "protect(ing) the farm interest".

He left provincial politics in 1953 to accept an appointment to the Senate of Canada.

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