William James Stewart (February 13, 1889 – September 28, 1969) was a Canadian politician. He was also a member of the Orange Order in Canada. Stewart also owned and operated the Bates and Dodds Funeral Home on Queen Street West in Toronto.
Political life
Mayor of Toronto
Stewart at the opening of the [[Toronto Coach Terminal in 1931|thumb|left]]
Stewart was alderman for Ward 5 in Toronto from 1924 to 1931. He defeated former mayor Sam McBride, who was attempting to return to office, in the 1931 mayoral election and served as Mayor of Toronto from 1931 until 1934. Stewart was the first mayor to use regular radio broadcasts to keep Toronto citizens informed. He also pushed for the restoration of Fort York, which was re-opened in 1934. He entered provincial politics in 1936 when he ran for the leadership of the Ontario Conservative Party. He came in third place
Stewart also owned and operated the Bates And Dodds Funeral Home at 931 Queen Street West at Strachan Avenue
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly
Following the 1943 election that brought George Drew's Tories to power, Stewart became Speaker of the legislature, a difficult task as the Progressive Conservatives (as they were known by then) had only a minority government. He was reappointed Speaker following the 1945 election until he suddenly resigned in March 1947 to become a backbench Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP). Farquhar Oliver, leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, introduced a motion that the assembly refuse to accept the resignation of Stewart but this motion was ruled out of order.