William Herbert Price

Who was William Herbert Price?

William Herbert Price was a Canadian politician, lawyer and soldier. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as the Member of the Legislative Assembly for the Parkdale electoral district from its inception in 1914 to his retirement in 1937. During World War I, while still serving as an MLA, he also served as a Lieutenant-Colonel for the 204th Battalion of the Canadian Infantry from 1916 until the end of the war. He easily won re-election in the 1919 Ontario general election, even though he spent the previous few years in Europe and not in the legislature. He won re-election, again in the 1923 election that saw United Farmers of Ontario government fall to his party's Conservatives, and allowed him to become the province's Treasurer from 1923 to 1926. He was re-elected again in 1926, and was appointed as the Attorney General of Ontario from 1926 to 1934. After being re-elected in the 1934 Ontario general election, he remained one of the few Conservative cabinet members to remain in the Legislature, as the Liberals won the most seats and formed a majority government. Even though he was presumed to be the leading contender to become the Conservative party's leader, Price announced in May 1936 that he would not seek re-election and would retire at the end of the legislative session. His decision came about two-weeks before the Conservatives were to pick a new leader, and turned it into a wide-open contest.