John Williams

Who was John Williams?

John Williams was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1907 to 1910, and again from 1914 to 1922. Williams was a member of the Manitoba Liberal Party, and briefly served as a cabinet minister in the government of Tobias C. Norris.

Born at Ysceifiog in Flintshire, Wales, the son of Thomas Williams and Hannah Phillips, Williams was educated at common schools. After reaching the age of thirteen, he worked in the lead means and farmed and then came to Canada in May 1881 with "absolutely no capital". After living in Hamilton, Ontario, where he worked on a farm, for a year and a half, he moved to Manitoba in November 1882 to become a farmer. He remained in this vocation until 1906, and served for a time as director of the Melita Farmers' Elevator Company. Williams also served as president of the local Grain Growers' Association and Agricultural Society and was reeve for the Rural Municipality of Arthur.

Williams first sought election to the Manitoba legislature in the 1903 provincial election, running in the southwestern constituency of Arthur. He lost to Conservative incumbent Allen Thompson by forty-eight votes. Thompson retired at the 1907 election, and Williams defeated new Conservative candidate Amos Lyle by a margin of three votes. Williams served as an opposition member for the next three years.