William Joseph Kent (December 24, 1860 – September 8, 1943) was a business and political leader in Bathurst, New Brunswick in Canada.

His grandfather (also named Joseph Kent) was an immigrant from Cornwall, England and was a pioneer in the development of the mining industry in New Brunswick.

[3] However, having not found sufficient success in mining, in 1842 the elder Joseph Kent bought land near Tetagouche and prospered as a farmer and blacksmith.

Wanting to open his own store, Kent went to Saint John to study at Kerr's Business College.

Catering primarily to the local farming community, it was the first general goods store in the area that was not owned by one of the large mining or lumber companies.

[6] The store proved popular, and in 1901, Kent built a larger brick building at 150 Main Street to house his growing enterprise.

[9] Kent's department store was a fixture of downtown Bathurst and was well known for its use of a pneumatic tube cash system that was among the last to be used in Canada.

Rather than having a cash register at every counter, all transactions were handled by a central cashier who took payments and returned change through a tube system that connected to all the departments on all three floors.

He authored a book about the event titled, A Directory Containing Names and Present Addresses of Professional Men, Merchants and Shopkeepers, Burnt out by the General Conflagration of July 8th, 1892; A Full Account of the Great Fire, the Customs' Tariff and Other Matter of General Information.

One of the recipients, the J. Harper Kent Charitable Foundation, is active in providing college scholarships to high school graduates from the Bathurst area.