Article

John Herbert Turner

Published Online October 31, 2010

Last Edited December 16, 2013

John Herbert Turner, businessman, politician, premier of BC 1895-98 (b at Claydon, Eng 7 May 1834; d at Richmond, Eng 9 Dec 1923). A merchant in Halifax and Charlottetown, Turner moved in 1862 to Victoria, where in 1865 he established the firm of Turner, Beeton and Co.

John Herbert Turner

John Herbert Turner, businessman, politician, premier of BC 1895-98 (b at Claydon, Eng 7 May 1834; d at Richmond, Eng 9 Dec 1923). A merchant in Halifax and Charlottetown, Turner moved in 1862 to Victoria, where in 1865 he established the firm of Turner, Beeton and Co. He was successively alderman and mayor of Victoria (1876-81); was elected to the BC legislature (1886); served as finance minister (1887-95), premier (1895-98), finance minister again (1900) and BC's agent general in London (1901-15). In both his business and political life, Turner epitomized the role of Victoria in late 19th-century BC; his firm was typically engaged in a wide variety of operations - salmon canning, importing, wholesaling, finance and insurance. Turner's premiership marked the final flowering of the Victoria business class in BC politics.