William Wallace Cory, CMG (June 16, 1865 – September 21, 1943) was the

commissioner of the Northwest Territories The commissioner of the Northwest Territories () is the Government of Canada's representative in the Northwest Territories. Similar in certain functions to a lieutenant governor, the commissioner swears in the members of the legislative assembl ...

from June 27, 1919 to February 17, 1931.

Biography

Cory was born in Strathroy,

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...

and moved with his farming family to

Gladstone, Manitoba Gladstone is an unincorporated urban community in the Municipality of WestLake – Gladstone within the Canadian province of Manitoba that held town status prior to January 1, 2015. It is located on the Yellowhead Highway at the intersection ...

in 1871. He studied law in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

and joined the Manitoba Attorney General's Office as a clerk in 1889, then joined the Dominion

Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources. It also administers programs relatin ...

in 1901. He was Assistant Commissioner of Dominion Lands from 1904 to 1905. Between 1905 and 1930 he was

Deputy Minister Deputy minister is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. A deputy minister is positioned in some way "under" a minister, who is a full member of Cabinet, in charge of a particular sta ...

of the Department of the Interior. He was appointed a Companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

in 1909.

Commissioner of the Northwest Territories

In 1919 Cory was also appointed

Commissioner of the Northwest Territories The commissioner of the Northwest Territories () is the Government of Canada's representative in the Northwest Territories. Similar in certain functions to a lieutenant governor, the commissioner swears in the members of the legislative assembl ...

, holding the office until 1931. Only the second

, Cory inherited a region that had barely been governed during the time of his predecessor.As Long As This Land Shall Last: A History of Treaty 8 and Treaty 11, 1870-1939 By René Fumoleau
at Google Books Within months the new Commissioner had enacted a new

ordinance Ordinance may refer to: Law * Ordinance (Belgium), a law adopted by the Brussels Parliament or the Common Community Commission * Ordinance (India), a temporary law promulgated by the President of India on recommendation of the Union Cabinet * Em ...

(or

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

) regarding entry into the Northwest Territories, restricting access only to those pre-approved by the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

at various outposts in

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

or the

Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

. The ordinance was cancelled a year later having been deemed ''

ultra vires ('beyond the powers') is a Latin phrase used in law to describe an act that requires legal authority but is done without it. Its opposite, an act done under proper authority, is ('within the powers'). Acts that are may equivalently be termed ...

.'' However, during his tenure as Commissioner, Cory pursued further administration of the Territories, overseeing the appointment of

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s for the first time and establishing operations to facilitate the expansion of

oil and gas A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geologi ...

interests in the region including the opening of the Territories' administration offices at Fort Smith in 1921. Later in 1921, a memo from the Commissioner's office concerned the well-being of the 150 white settlers of the

District of Mackenzie The District of Mackenzie was a regional administrative district of Canada's Northwest Territories. The district consisted of the portion of the Northwest Territories directly north of British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan on Canada's main ...

and including future white interests in the Territories. It did not make any reference to the interests of the approximately 3,500 aboriginal population of the District of Mackenzie at that time. However alternative evidence suggests Cory himself was sympathetic to the region's

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

populace as highlighted in a letter to the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

secretary, Edward Fitzgerald accusing Hudson's Bay Company post managers of exploiting the Inuit, and casting doubt on whether the Company could reform its trading system to prevent such abuses.

Later life

Cory died in Montreal (St. Lambert) in 1943 and was buried in Ottawa. Cory is the namesake of Mount Cory, in Alberta.

Family

Cory married Laura Watson in 1888; they had three children: Wilfred, Thomas, and Edith. Edith married Alfred Bertram Rosevear and had eight children: John, William, Thomas, Margaret, Cory, Edith, Bertram, and Elizabeth. William married Cynthia and had a daughter named Stephanie. Cory married Elizabeth and had three children: Kenneth, Robin and Heather. Edith married J.D. Scanlan and had one daughter: Mary, who married Keith Martin and had three children: Sarah, Emily, and Sophie. Elizabeth married Charles Dean and had three children: Stephen, Thomas, and James.

References

External links