Role Canadian Politician Party Liberal Party of Canada | Political party Liberal Succeeded by George Nowlan Name James Ilsley | |
 | ||
Preceded by The electoral district was created in 1933. Born January 3, 1894
Somerset, Nova Scotia ( 1894-01-03 ) Died January 14, 1967, Halifax, Canada Cabinet Minister of Justice, Minister of Finance, Minister of National Revenue | ||
Preceded by Arthur de Witt Foster Preceded by Joseph Andrew Chisholm | ||
James Lorimer Ilsley, PC, KC (January 3, 1894 – January 14, 1967) was a Canadian politician and jurist.
He was born in Somerset, Nova Scotia, the son of Randel Ilsley and Catherine Caldwell. Ilsley was educated at Acadia University and Dalhousie University and was admitted to the Nova Scotia bar in 1916. In 1919, he married Evelyn Smith. Ilsley practiced law in Yarmouth and Halifax, Nova Scotia until he was elected to the Canadian House of Commons as a Liberal in the 1926 election. He survived the 1930 election that sent the Liberals into Opposition.
When the party returned to power in the 1935 election, Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King brought Ilsley into Cabinet as Minister of National Revenue. In 1940, he was promoted to Minister of Finance. He held that position for the duration of World War II during a period of massive expansion in expenditure due to the war effort. He was recognized for his service in 1946 when he was appointed to the Imperial Privy Council, and given the honorific of "Right Honourable".
The same year, he became Minister of Justice. He served in that position until he retired from politics in 1948. The next year, he was appointed to the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, and became Chief Justice of Nova Scotia in 1950. He served in that capacity until his death in 1967 in Halifax at the age of 73.
J. L. Ilsley High School, opened in 1971 and located in Spryfield, Nova Scotia, bears his name.