view of judging whether it is suitable to the conditions which then prevail," income tax became a permanent feature of Canadian life. In 1919, he approved the use of naval warships to suppress post-war labour radicalism in British Columbia. White served as Finance Minister until August 1, 1919. From November 1918 to May 1919, he also served as Acting Prime Minister while Borden was in Europe. Several members of Borden's Unionist government (a wartime coalition of the Conservative Party and some Liberals) called on White to replace Borden as Prime Minister in 1920, but he declined. In the 1920 New Year Honours, as a reward for his service as Acting Prime Minister, White was appointed to the Imperial Privy Council, allowing him to use the honorific "The Right Honourable". He remained a Member of Parliament until the 1921 election when he retired from politics. Later in the year, he published a pamphlet entitled The Story of Canada's War Finances, defending his management of the wartime economy. White did not consider himself as a "career politician". His tenure as Finance Minister was very stressful, and he seems to have welcomed the opportunity to leave political life after the war's end. There is no indication that he entertained a return to politics in later years. In 1933, he served as a member of the Royal Commission on Banking and Currency. He opposed the creation of the Bank of Canada. Archives There is a Sir William Thomas White fonds at Library and Archives Canada. Footnotes External links 1866 births 1955 deaths Canadian Ministers of Finance Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Canadian Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Canadian members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Lawyers in Ontario University of Toronto alumni