Ernest Charles Drury

Ernest Charles Drury was a Canadian farmer, politician and writer who led the United Farmers of Ontario to power and served as the eighth premier of Ontario from 1919 to 1923, heading a United Farmers-Labour coalition government. He was the first premier of Ontario born in the province after Confederation, and his administration, rooted in the organized farmer movement, introduced allowances for widows and children, a minimum wage for women, and North America's first major reforestation program, alongside expanded rural electrification through Ontario Hydro. Drury's government also supported the insulin research of Frederick Banting and Charles Best before losing office in the 1923 election amid controversies over temperance enforcement and forest policy.