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John Walter Jones
Premier from 1943 to 1953
ON APRIL 14, 1878, John Walter Jones was born on the family farm at Pownal. After attending
school in his home area, he went to work on his father's farm until he entered Prince of Wales
College in 1897. On completion of his education at Prince of Wales, Walter Jones taught school
for a year and then went on to Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia graduating in 1904
with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
He returned to Prince Edward Island and was named principal of the MacDonald Consolidated
School in Hillsborough, where he continued his teaching career until 1907 when he entered the
Ontario Agricultural College of the University of Toronto. Two years later, he graduated with a
degree in agriculture and went to the United States where he became superintendent of a
Horticultural Department at the world's largest Experimental Farm in Arlington, Virginia. From
his position in the United States, he was instrumental in starting the seed potato industry on
Prince Edward Island because he could point out the advantages of the Island product to
interested American buyers.
In 1912, Walter Jones returned to Canada and served on a Conservation Committee investigating
the fox farming industry. He authored a book on the subject "Fur Farming in Canada', and this
quickly established him as an authority on the fox farming industry. In 1914, he returned to
Acadia to received his M.A. degree. Following graduation, he established a farm in Bunbury
raising silver foxes. In 1918, he established a herd of purebred Holstein cattle for which he
became internationally famous. His farming methods were extremely successful and he was the
recipient of a number of national awards including Canada's first Individual Master Breeder
Award. In 1935, he was awarded the King George V medal for being the best farmer on Prince
Edward Island. His keen interest in the agriculture industry of his native province continued
throughout his political career.
J. Walter Jones first entered the political field in 1921, running as a candidate for the Farmer
Progressive party in the Federal election and he was defeated. He entered the provincial political
arena in 1935 being elected to the legislature in the Liberal sweep in that general election
representing the Belfast district. He was re-elected to the House in 1939, 1943, 1947 and 1950.
Following the appointment of Honourable Thane A. Campbell to the position of Chief Justice of
Prince Edward Island in 1943, Walter Jones became the twentieth Premier of the Province and
served for 10 years.
In 1953, Premier Jones was appointed to the Federal
Senate and he died in Ottawa on March 31, 1954.
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