William Wallace Burns McInnes

Who was William Wallace Burns McInnes?

William Wallace Burns McInnes was a Canadian politician, lawyer and served as the Yukon's fifth Commissioner.

Born in Dresden, Ontario, the son of Thomas Robert McInnes, McInnes entered the University of Toronto at the age of 14 and graduated in 1889, the youngest graduate to that date. After studying at Osgoode Hall, he was called to the British Columbia Bar in 1893 and practiced law in Nanaimo and Vancouver.

A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, McInnes won the federal constituency of Vancouver in 1896 and sat in the Canadian House of Commons in Ottawa. In 1900, he represented Port Alberni in the British Columbia Legislature for five years. In Victoria, he served as provincial secretary and Minister of Education.

On May 27, 1905, McInnes was appointed to the office of Commissioner in the Yukon Territory. His term in office was said to be one of reform and stability, in contrast to the term of his predecessor, Frederick Tennyson Congdon. He was said to be one of the most popular politicians in the Yukon in the early 1900s. However, on December 31, 1906, McInnes had resigned and looking to sit once again in the House of Commons. J. T.