William H. Temple | |
|---|---|
 Temple at his campaign victory party in 1948 | |
| Member of Provincial Parliament | |
| In office 1948–1951 | |
| Preceded by | George Drew |
| Succeeded by | Alfred Hozack Cowling |
| Constituency | High Park |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 November 1898 Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Died | 9 April 1988 (aged 89) Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Political party | Co-operative Commonwealth Federation/New Democratic Party |
| Spouse | Mary Temple |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence(s) | Toronto, Ontario |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Nickname | Temperance Bill |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Canada |
| Branch/service | Royal Canadian Air Force |
| Years of service | 1942–1945 |
| Rank | Flying Officer |
| Battles/wars | Battle of the Atlantic |
| War | World War II |
| Allegiance | Britain |
| Branch | Royal Naval Air Service |
| Service Years | 1916–1918 |
| Rank | Flying Officer |
William Horace (Bill) Temple (28 November 1898 – 9 April 1988), nicknamed "Temperance Bill" or "Temperance Willie", was a Canadian socialist politician, trade union activist, businessman and temperance crusader. As a youth he worked for the railway. During World War I, and World War II he served in the Royal Naval Air Service and later on the Royal Canadian Air Force. Between the wars, he was a salesman, and then he started a clothing import business. He became a socialist during that period and joined the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) when it was formed. He ran for political office many times for the CCF, both federally and provincially. The highlight of his political career was in 1948, when he defeated the incumbent Ontario Premier George Drew in his own legislative seat, in the electoral district of High Park, even though Drew's party won the general election with a majority government. His tenure was relatively short, serving only one term, and was defeated in the 1951 provincial election, and went back into the clothing import business. In his later years, he successfully led the political fight to maintain the prohibition on selling alcohol in a section of Toronto's west end and won three referendums in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. He died in the spring of 1988, a few months before another referendum on lifting the restrictions on alcohol in the area was again defeated, his "last" victory.