William John Hanna

William John Hanna (October 13 1862 – March 20 1919) was a lawyer and political figure in Ontario, Canada. He represented Lambton West in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1902 to 1919 as a Conservative member.

He was born in Adelaide Township, Middlesex County, Canada West, the son of George Hanna, and moved to Lambton County with his family in 1871. He studied in Sarnia and taught school for three years. He then studied law at Osgoode Hall, was called to the bar in 1890 and set up practice in Sarnia. He married Jean Gibson Neil in 1890 and then Maud MacAdams in 1896 after the death of his first wife. In 1908, Hanna was named King's Counsel. He served as counsel and director for the Imperial Oil Company in Sarnia.

Hanna was unsuccessful in the federal elections of 1896 and 1900 before being elected to the provincial assembly in 1902. He served as Provincial Secretary and Registrar from 1905 to 1916. In 1916, Hanna introduced the Ontario Temperance Act which prohibited the sale of alcohol except for medicinal purposes or use in church services for the remainder of World War I. Hanna also served as an adviser to prime minister Robert Laird Borden. In 1917, he was named food controller for Canada, charged with dealing with food shortages and inflation near the end of the war. He retired from this position in 1918 due to ill health. He was named president of Imperial Oil later that year.

He died in Augusta, Georgia while vacationing there for his health and was buried in Sarnia.

References

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* [http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/members/members_all_detail.do?locale=en&ID=1262 Member's parliamentary history for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario]