Whitney, James Pliny, Sir, 1843-1914

• Whitney, J.P. (James Pliny), Sir, 1843-1914

Sir James Pliny Whitney (1843-1914) was Premier of Ontario from 1905 to 1914.

He was born in Williamsburgh Township, Dundas County, Ontario, and was educated at a Osnabruck local school and the Cornwall Grammar School. He later joined the Cornwall law firm of John Sandfield MacDonald and John Baer Maclennan as an articling student, and was called to the bar in 1876. At this time, he left Cornwall for Morrisburg, where he set up his own practice. In 1877 he married Alice Park.

Shortly after his arrival in Morrisburg, Whitney became involved in the Dundas County Liberal-Conservative Association as a local organizer. In 1886, he ran as a Conservative candidate for Dundas in the provincial general election. He lost by twenty-eight votes.He was elected in a by-election in 1888, and re- elected in 1894, 1898, 1902, 1905, and 1911.

Whitney became the leader of the Ontario Conservative party in 1896, and became the Premier of Ontario in 1905. During its nine years in office, the Whitney government passed legislation modernizing the University of Ontario, enlarging the role of the Hydro Electric Power Corporation, creating the Ontario Railway and Municipal Board to review municipal ordinances, reducing the number of working hours for employees, establishing a minimum age for factory operatives, creating a Workmen's Compensation Board, instituting a dairy inspection branch, and ensuring that school age children were inoculated against small pox. A more controversial action taken by the government was the formulation of the Department of Education's Regulation 17, which limited the use of French in Ontario schools to the primary grades, although the Regulation was later altered to allow some French instruction for older children.

Whitney was knighted by the Prince of Wales at Quebec City in 1908. In 1913 he made a Knight Commander of the Military Garter. Whitney died while still in office in 1914.

Rev. Apr/12.