Article

William Wallace Burns McInnes

Published Online January 22, 2008

Last Edited December 16, 2013

William Wallace Burns McInnes, lawyer, politician, commissioner of Yukon T, judge (b at Dresden, Ont 8 Apr 1871; d at Vancouver 4 Aug 1954). McInnes entered the University of Toronto at 14 years of age and graduated at 18 in 1889, the youngest graduate to that date.

McInnes, William Wallace Burns

William Wallace Burns McInnes, lawyer, politician, commissioner of Yukon T, judge (b at Dresden, Ont 8 Apr 1871; d at Vancouver 4 Aug 1954). McInnes entered the University of Toronto at 14 years of age and graduated at 18 in 1889, the youngest graduate to that date. After studying at Osgoode Hall, he was called to the BC Bar in 1893 and practised in Nanaimo and Vancouver. A Liberal, he won the federal constituency of Nanaimo in 1896. He represented Alberni in the BC legislature 1900-05, serving as provincial secretary and minister of education in the short-lived Prior administration.

In 1905 he was appointed commissioner of Yukon Territory and his term was characterized by reform and political harmony. He unsuccessfully sought election in 1907, 1908 and 1917, and was appointed to the County Court of Vancouver (1909-17). He served as police magistrate in Vancouver for 10 years, beginning in 1944, and was known for the severity of his sentences.