John Robert Boyle, (February 1, 1870 or February 3, 1871 – February 15, 1936) was a Canadian politician and jurist who served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, a cabinet minister in the Government of Alberta, and a judge on the Supreme Court of Alberta. Born in Ontario, he came west and eventually settled in Edmonton, where he practiced law. After a brief stint on Edmonton's first city council, he was elected in Alberta's inaugural provincial election as a Liberal. During the Alberta and Great Waterways Railway scandal, he was a leader of the Liberal insurgency that forced Premier Alexander Cameron Rutherford from office. Though initially left out of cabinet by Arthur Sifton, Rutherford's successor, Boyle was named Minister of Education in 1912. He served in this capacity until 1918, during which time he alienated many non-English speakers by insisting on a unilingual English school system. In 1918 he was made Attorney-General. He retained his seat in the legislature after the Liberal defeat in the 1921 election and briefly served as leader of the Liberal opposition, but was appointed to the bench in 1924. He was still a judge when he died in 1936. Early life Boyle was born in Sykeston, Ontario on either February 1, 1870 or February 3, 1871, of Scottish and Irish descent. His father died in 1884, and Boyle had to leave school to support his family; he eventually completed high school at Sarnia Collegiate Institute in 1888 and 1889. Following graduation, he taught school for three years in Lambton County. In 1894, he came west, though accounts vary as to exactly where he settled and for what purpose: he either studied law in Regina, taught school in Pilot Butte, or settled in Edmonton. He was reported to be teaching at Partridge Hill School near Horse Hills in 1896. Sources agree that he was in the Edmonton area by 1896, and that he taught school there before being called to the bar in 1899. In either 1892 or 1902 he married Dora Shaw, with whom he had three children (Helen, Frederick and Jean). He partnered with Hedley C. Taylor to form Taylor & Boyle, which was later known as Boyle, Parlee, Freeman, Abbott & Mustard; the firm was a forerunner of the present day Parlee McLaws. Boyle was made King's Counsel in 1913. He ran in the 1904 Edmonton municipal election to elect