George William Ross

Sir George William Ross (September 18, 1841-March 7, 1905) was an Ontario educator and politician. First elected to the Canadian House of Commons as a Liberal in 1872, Ross was re-elected in 1874 and 1878. He was initially declared re-elected again in 1882 but his election was challenged and the next year the vote was declared void. Rather than run again Ross moved to provincial politics when he was offered the position of Minister of Education in Sir Oliver Mowat's Cabinet in 1883. He oversaw the construction of over 300 libraries and the expansion of the kindergarten system as well as the creation of the School of Pedagogy for the training of school inspectors and masters. Ross also increased grants to the education system and oversaw the expansion of the university system with the federation of a number of smaller colleges with the University of Toronto.

The Conservative opposition protested against the possibility of increased support for the Catholic Separate school system while the Catholic minority agitated for the same high schools and other facilities that the public (Protestant) school system enjoyed. The Protestant Protective Association was formed by Orangemen in the 1890s to oppose the expansion of Catholic rights and attempt to exclude Catholics from public life in the province.

After Mowat's retirement as Premier and a short interegnum by Arthur S. Hardy, Ross became Premier on October 21, 1899. The Liberal government was tired, however, after almost thirty years in office and Ross could do little to revive its fortunes. In the election of 1902, the Liberal majority was cut to five seats but in a time when parties lacked the discipline over their members they would later develop, five seats was not enough for a secure government. A vote buying scandal engulfed the government and demands for prohibition split the party. Leading a stagnating and drifting government, Ross called an election for January 25, 1905 in which the Liberals lost 22 seats and the Conservatives under James P. Whitney won 69 making Whitney the new Premier. Ross remained Liberal leader until 1907 when he was appointed to the Canadian Senate in which he served until his death in 1914.