James Lorimer Ilsley (3 January 1894 – 14 January 1967) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

politician and jurist. He was

minister of finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

from 1940 to 1946. He was finance minister during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

; to fund the increase in wartime expenditure, he dramatically expanded the

income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...

by imposing it on millions of workers and citizens.

Early life

He was born in Somerset, Nova Scotia, the son of Randel Ilsley and Catherine Caldwell. Ilsley was educated at

Acadia University Acadia University is a public, predominantly Undergraduate education, undergraduate university located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, with some Postgraduate education, graduate programs at the master's level and one at the Doctorate, doctor ...

where he served as Editor-In-Chief of the university newspaper The Athenaeum. He then attended

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

and was admitted to the Nova Scotia bar in 1916. In 1919, he married Evelyn Smith. Ilsley then practised law in Yarmouth and

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

until 1926.

Political career

He was elected to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

as a Liberal in the 1926 election. He survived the 1930 election that sent the Liberals into Opposition. When the Liberal Party returned to power in the 1935 election,

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who was the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Liberal ...

brought Ilsley into Cabinet as

Minister of National Revenue The minister responsible for the Canada Revenue Agency () is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), as well as the administration of taxation law and collection. The position is ...

Finance minister

In 1940, he was promoted to

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

. He held that position for the duration of

during a period of massive expansion in expenditure due to the war effort, described as a "transformation of the Canadian tax system" by historian Colin Campbell. Under his direction, the minimum income required to pay income tax was push dramatically downward, effectively changing income tax from a "class tax" on the wealthiest 300,000 or so Canadians to a national tax imposed on millions of average workers, and directly deduced from their checks. The revenue generated from income tax during this era expand by nearly 1000%. He also led the Victory Bond campaign, brought in wage and price controls in 1941, and deal with several currency crises. He was also known for his call for personal sacrifice by civilians during the war and led by example by giving up his car and riding the

streetcar A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...

Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (), colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern bank of the Ottawa River that houses the Parliament of Canada in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. It accommodates a suite of Gothic revival buildings whose ...

. In 1945, despite the taxes he had imposed on the general public, he was rated the most popular cabinet minister in the cabinet. He was recognized for his service in 1946 when he was appointed to the Imperial Privy Council, and given the honorific of "Right Honourable".

Minister of justice

The same year, he became

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

. He served in that position until he retired from politics in 1948.

Later life

Illsley retired from politics in 1948. The next year, he was appointed to the

Nova Scotia Supreme Court The Nova Scotia Supreme Court is a superior court in the province of Nova Scotia. The Supreme Court consists of 25 judicial seats including the position of Chief Justice and Associate Chief Justice. At any given time there may be one or more addi ...

and became Chief Justice of Nova Scotia in 1950. He served in that capacity until his death in 1967 in Halifax at the age of 73. J. L. Ilsley High School, opened in 1971 and located in Spryfield, Nova Scotia, bears his name.

Electoral record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ilsley, James Lorimer 1894 births 1967 deaths Ministers of finance of Canada Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Nova Scotia Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Canadian members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Lawyers in Nova Scotia Canadian King's Counsel People from Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada