John R. Boyle

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John Robert Boyle
John R. Boyle
In office
1921 – 1924
Preceded by Albert Ewing
Succeeded by Charles R. Mitchell
Leader of the Alberta Liberal Party
In office
1922 – 1924
Preceded by Charles Stewart
Succeeded by Charles R. Mitchell
Alberta Attorney General
In office
1918 – July 18, 1921
Preceded by Charles Wilson Cross
Succeeded by John Edward Brownlee
Alberta Minister of Education
In office
1912 – 1918
Preceded by Charles R. Mitchell
Succeeded by George P. Smith
In office
July 18, 1921 – 1924
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Sturgeon
In office
November 9, 1905 – July 18, 1921
Preceded by New District
Succeeded by Samuel Carson
Alderman on the Edmonton City Council
In office
December 12, 1904 – May 7, 1906
Born February 3, 1871
Sykeston, Ontario
Died February 15, 1936 (aged 65)
Ottawa, Ontario
Political party Alberta Liberal Party
Spouse Dora Shaw (2 children)
Profession Lawyer
Religion Presbyterian

John Robert Boyle (February 3, 1871 - February 15, 1936) was a politician and judge in Alberta, Canada. He served as a municipal councillor in Edmonton, a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, a minister in the Government of Alberta, and leader of the Alberta Liberal Party.

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[edit] Early life

Boyle was born in Sykeston, Ontario on February 3, 1871 and worked as a teacher for three years in Lambton County immediately after finishing high school. He studied law in Regina, Saskatchewan, and moved to Edmonton in 1894. He married Dora Shaw in 1892; the pair would have a son and a daughter.

He was admitted to the bar in 1899, after aticling with McKenzie and Brown. He went into partnership with Judge Hedley C. Taylor under the name Taylor & Boyle; later, the firm would become Boyle, Parlee, Freeman, Abbott & Mustard. He would be named King's Counsel in 1913.

[edit] Municipal politics

Boyle first sought political office in the 1904 Edmonton election, when he finished second of seventeen candidates for alderman and was one of eight aldermen elected to Edmonton's first city council. As one of the top four finishers, Boyle's term was for two years, but he resigned in 1906 to pursue his provincial career.

[edit] Provincial politics

[edit] Early provincial career

While still an alderman, Boyle ran in the riding of Sturgeon in the 1905 Alberta general election as a Liberal. He defeated Conservative Frank Knight by a large margin, and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. He also became the province's first deputy speaker, a post which he held until 1909.

He was acclaimed during the 1909 election.

When the government of Alexander Cameron Rutherford became mired in the Great Waters Railway Scandal, in which the government was accused of conflict of interest in proposing to insure bonds issued by a railway company, Boyle led a caucus revolt that forced the government's resignation in 1912.

[edit] Minister of the Crown

When Arthur Sifton succeeded Rutherford as premier in 1912, he appointed Boyle Education Minister. In accordance with the custom of the time, which dictated that legislators appointed to the cabinet resign to stand in a by-election, Boyle defeated Conservative A. W. Taylor in a May 27 by-election. He was re-elected again in the 1913 and 1917 elections.

In 1918, new premier Charles Stewart, who had succeeded Sifton as premier, moved Boyle from Education to Attorney General. He would hold that post until the Liberals were no longer in government.

In the 1921 election, Boyle became one of only three people in Alberta's history to run in two ridings in the same election (another was Charles Cross, from whom Boyle had taken over as Attorney General) as he both sought re-election in Sturgeon and ran in the reconstituted multi-member riding of Edmonton. He was defeated by United Farmers of Alberta candidate Samuel Carson in Sturgeon, but finished fourth of twenty-six candidates in Edmonton and was one of five MLAs - all Liberals - elected from the riding.

[edit] Leader of the Alberta Liberals

While Edmonton went entirely Liberal in the 1921 election, the rest of the province elected a majority United Farmers of Alberta government. The Liberals found themselves in opposition for the first time in the province's history, and Stewart resigned as leader to enter federal politics.

Boyle was selected as the party's new leader in 1922. However, in 1924 he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Alberta and left provincial politics never having contested an election as leader. When he resigned, he was the last member of the 1st Alberta Legislative Assembly still in office.

[edit] Personal life, death, and legacy

John Boyle was a member of the Presbyterian Church, the Masonic Order, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was still sitting as a judge when he died in Ottawa on February 15, 1936, on his way to Jamaica.

The village of Boyle, Alberta and the Edmonton neighbourhood of Boyle Street[1] are named in his honor.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Lawrence Herzog, "Lambton Block", Real Estate Weekly, Vol 20, No 31, August 1, 2002. [1]

[edit] External links

3rd Ministry - Government of Charles Stewart
Cabinet Posts (2)
Predecessor Office Successor
Charles Wilson Cross Attorney General
(1918–1921)
 John Edward Brownlee
Continuing from previous ministry Minister of Education
(1917–1918)
 George P. Smith
2nd Ministry - Government of Arthur Lewis Sifton
Cabinet Posts (1)
Predecessor Office Successor
Charles R. Mitchell Minister of Education
(1912–1917)
 Continued into next ministry
Legislative Assembly of Alberta
Preceded by
New District		 MLA Sturgeon
1905-1921		 Succeeded by
Samuel Carson
Preceded by
Charles Wilson Cross
Albert Ewing		 MLA Edmonton
1921-1924		 Succeeded by
William Thomas Henry
Preceded by
Albert Ewing		 Leader of the Official Opposition in Alberta
1921–1924		 Succeeded by
Charles R. Mitchell
Party political offices
Preceded by
Charles Stewart		 Leader of the Alberta Liberal Party
1921–1924		 Succeeded by
Charles R. Mitchell