James William Jones (September 21, 1869 – May 2, 1954) was a merchant, realtor and political figure in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada. He represented

South Okanagan South Okanagan was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia beginning with the election of 1916. Following the 1975 election boundary revisions accompanied the riding's renaming to Okanagan South. The ridi ...

from 1916 to 1933 in the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia () is the deliberative assembly of the Legislature of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The other component of the Legislature is the lieutenant governor of British Columbi ...

as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

. He was born in

Utica, Ontario Utica is an unincorporated community in Ontario, Canada. It is recognized as a designated place by Statistics Canada. Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Utica had a population of 121 living in 41 of it ...

, the son of James Jones and Tryphenin Searles, and was educated in

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon, northwest of Charing Cross. Uxbridge formed part of the parish of Hillingdon in the county of Middlesex. As part ...

and

Port Perry Port Perry is a community located in Scugog, Ontario, Canada. The town is located northeast of central Toronto, north of Oshawa, and east of Whitby, Ontario, Whitby. Port Perry has a population of 9,553 as of 2021. Port Perry serves as the admi ...

. Jones moved to

Grenfell, Saskatchewan Grenfell (Canada 2016 Census population 1,098.5) is a town in List of communities in Saskatchewan, Southern Saskatchewan, Canada. It is situated at the junction of Saskatchewan Highway 47, Highway 47 and the Saskatchewan Highway 1, Trans-Canada ...

in 1886. In 1893, he married Addie M. Bird. Jones and his family moved to

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley in the British Columbia Interior, southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna ...

in 1907. He served as mayor of Kelowna from 1912 to 1917. Jones was speaker for the assembly from 1929 to 1930 and served in the provincial cabinet as finance minister and minister of industries from 1930 to 1933. He was defeated when he ran for reelection as an independent Conservative in 1933. In 1933, he moved to

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. Jones died in Saanich in 1954.

References

1869 births 1954 deaths Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia British Columbia Conservative Party MLAs Mayors of Kelowna People from Scugog 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 20th-century mayors of places in British Columbia {{BritishColumbia-mayor-stub