John Walter Jones
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John Walter Jones (April 14, 1878 – March 31, 1954) was a politician and farmer in Prince Edward Island, Canada. An agronomist, he was instrumental in introducing the potato crop to the island, which was to become a staple of the economy. In 1935, he received the King George V medal as the best farmer in the province.
Born in Pownal, he first ran for public office in the 1921 federal election as a Farmer-Progressive candidate, but failed to win a seat in the Canadian House of Commons.
He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island as a Liberal in 1935. In 1943, he became premier of the province when Thane A. Campbell was appointed as a judge.
The government of "Farmer Jones" repealed strict prohibition, and created the PEI Liquor Control Commission to regulate the sale of liquor. He had to proceed by order-in-council because the lieutenant-governor, as a prohibitionist, refused to give Royal Assent to the necessary legislation. In 1947, his government broke a strike at Canada Packers, a meat-packing plant, by seizing the plant, employing strike-breakers and outlawing trade union affiliation with national or international unions in the name of "protect(ing) the farm interest".
He left provincial politics in 1953 to accept an appointment to the Canadian Senate.
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| Preceded by Thane Alexander Campbell |
Premier of Prince Edward Island 1943–1953 |
Succeeded by Alexander Wallace Matheson |
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