William Folger Nickle

Who was William Folger Nickle?

William Folger Nickle KC was a Canadian politician who served both as a member of the Canadian House of Commons and in the Ontario legislature where he rose to the position of Attorney-General of Ontario. He is best known for the Nickle Resolution that ended the practice of knighthoods and peerages being awarded to Canadians.

Born in Kingston, Ontario, the son of William Nickle, Nickle was educated at Queen's University and Osgoode Hall. He was called to the Ontario bar in 1896 and set up a law practice in Kingston. He entered local politics and was elected to the school board 1904 and then served on Kingston city council from 1905 until 1908.

He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 1908 provincial election as a Conservative and served for three years until his election to the federal House of Commons in the 1911 federal election, as the Conservative Member of Parliament for Kingston. He was re-elected in the 1917 federal election as a Unionist.

Nickle was appointed to chair a special committee of the House of Commons to examine the question of the appointment of honours.