Sir Byron Edmund Walker, C.V.O., LL.D., D.C.L. 1848-1924
The plaque located near the community of Gilford in Innisfil bears the Ontario coat of arms.
Sir Byron Edmund Walker, C.V.O., LL.D., D.C.L. 1848-1924 – Born in Haldimand County, Walker joined the new Canadian Bank of Commerce at an early age, transforming it into one of Canada’s leading financial institutions. He helped author the Bank Act, cornerstone of Canada’s national banking system. By 1907, he was president of the Bank of Commerce, a position he held until 1924.
Walker was a generous patron of the arts, helping to found and nurture many of Canada’s cultural and educational institutions, including the University of Toronto, National Gallery of Canada, Champlain Society, Appleby School, Art Gallery of Ontario and Royal Ontario Museum. In 1910, King George V knighted Walker for his contributions to business and the arts. Walker assembled land in Innisfil Township for a family retreat that his wife Mary named “Innisfree” and built Innisfree Farm in 1913. Ontario Heritage Foundation, an agency of the Government of Ontario.”
Walker credited his father for developing his broad interests and love for learning, and always regretted that poor health prevented him from getting a formal education. He believed that the basis of a civilized society was its educational system and that a nation’s universities were its most treasured institutions. Throughout his life he took an active interest in educational institutions. After fire destroyed the eastern portion of University College in 1890, Walker was instrumental in persuading the Ontario government to make its first grant to the amalgamated University of Toronto.
The Toronto Conservatory of Music also joined the university through his efforts. He served as a member of its Board of Governors, and later as president (1917-24). His support for music also included the Mendelssohn Choir, for which he was honorary president (1900-24).
Through his years in New York and early trips to Europe Walker developed skills as an art connoisseur and collector, often lecturing on the subject. His collection of 1,070 Japanese woodblock prints, were bequeathed to the Royal Ontario Museum on his death. A collection of over 400 works of graphic art including works by Dürer and Rembrandt were donated by his children to the Art Gallery of Ontario in 1926. Walker’s relationship with George Agnew Reid had led to the founding of the Art Gallery of Ontario. On March 15, 1900, Reid, then president of the Ontario Society of Artists, brought a group of citizens together to consider the formation of an art gallery for Toronto. At that meeting, a Provisional Art Museum Board was set in place with Walker as chairman and Reid as secretary. Through effective lobbying and fundraising ($5,000 each from 10 benefactors), the Ontario Legislature later that year passed a bill incorporating the Art Museum of Toronto. Walker became president of its Board of Trustees and served until his death.
The Town of Innisfil acknowledges that this land is the Traditional Territories of the First Peoples of Turtle Island. It is shared between the Anishinaabe peoples of Beausoleil First Nation, Chippewas of Rama First Nation, and Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation and we thank them for generations of stewardship.
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