Arthur Barnes (November 17, 1866 – November 24, 1956) was a Canadian educator and political figure in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

. He represented

Harbour Grace Harbour Grace is a town in Conception Bay on the Avalon Peninsula in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. With roots dating back to the 16th century, it is one of the oldest towns in North America. It is located about northwest of ...

from 1904 to 1908 and from 1919 to 1924 and

Burgeo Burgeo ( ) is a town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is located mainly on Grandy Island, on the south coast of the island of Newfoundland. It is an outport community. The town is approximately east of Channel-Port au ...

from 1928 to 1932 in the

Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly The Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly () is the Unicameralism, unicameral deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It meets in the Confederation Bu ...

as a Liberal. He was born in Topsail,

Conception Bay Conception Bay (CB) is a bay on the southeast coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The population (in 2011) of people living in municipalities (or unincorporated census subdivisions) located along the coast of Conception Bay was 90,490 making it ...

, the son of John Barnes and was educated in St. John's. Barnes taught school at Coley's Point, Bay Roberts and St. John's. He was vice-principal of

Bishop Feild College Bishop Feild College (originally Church of England Academy; formerly Church of England College and Bishop Feild School; currently Bishop Feild Elementary), founded in 1844, is a school in St. John's, Newfoundland. Founded as the Church of Engl ...

and was principal for a school in Bay Roberts. His fiancée Emmeline Dawe died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

before they could be married and Barnes took on the care of Dawe's mother, a widow. He served nine years as principal for the normal school in St. John's from 1908 to 1917. He became the first Minister of Education for Newfoundland. Barnes was defeated when he ran for election in Bonavista in 1924. He was elected again in a 1928 by-election. Barnes resigned his seat in 1932 after he was promised a post as governor of the Bank of Newfoundland; he was not named to the post because of a change in government. He died in Bay Roberts at the age of 90. From 1928 to 1932, he served under Premier

Richard Squires Sir Richard Anderson Squires KCMG (January 18, 1880 – March 26, 1940) was the Prime Minister of Newfoundland from 1919 to 1923 and from 1928 to 1932. As prime minister, Squires attempted to reform Newfoundland's fishing industry, but failed ...

in the positions of Colonial Secretary and Railway Commissioner.

References

20th-century members of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly 1866 births 1956 deaths Bishop Feild School alumni Government ministers of the Dominion of Newfoundland Newfoundland Colony people Colonial secretaries of Newfoundland {{Newfoundland-politician-stub