William Raney

William Edgar Raney KC (December 8, 1859 – September 24, 1933) was a lawyer, politician and judge in Ontario, Canada, in the early twentieth century.

Raney then made a career move, applied to and attended Osgoode Hall and Trinity College - graduating with high honours and a gold medal in law.

Raney was a well-known lawyer in the early 1900s and initially came to the public eye through his opposition to gambling on horse racing, against which he authored a series of reports.

[2] His son, Paul Hartley Raney, a fighter pilot in the First World War, was killed in action, shot down over Roulers, Belgium (then German-held territory) on August 21, 1917.

After the United Farmers of Ontario unexpectedly won the 1919 provincial election the agrarian party — pursuing an unusual matter of principle — had no lawyers in its caucus and so the new government of E.C.

The Government's strict enforcement of the Ontario Temperance Act served to alienate voters from the cities, who largely felt that the party was too inclined towards rural causes and hostile towards urban issues.

In 1927, Raney resigned his seat to accept an appointment to the Supreme Court of Ontario, where he served diligently with significant respect and distinction.