William Wensley Smith

William Wensley Smith (1887–1955) was a Canadian who founded W.W. Smith Insurance Ltd., one of the oldest insurance brokerages in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located in the city of Swift Current, where it had its beginnings in 1913.

When William Wensley Smith, an Englishman from Woolwich, immigrated to Canada in 1903 as a teenager, he didn't have much more than the shirt on his back and a few shillings in his pocket. However, he did have a letter of introduction from his pastor, vouching for him as a hard-working fellow of good character. Smith used that letter to get started in his new, adopted homeland, and eventually became very successful in life and business.

William Wensley Smith, or WW as he was better known, worked as a farm labourer in Manitoba before settling in Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan, where he spent a few years as an employee in a general store. From there he made his way to Regina, where he worked in the life insurance business with the Confederation Life Association. Smith arrived in Swift Current in 1913, just a year before it was incorporated as a city. It was a unique time in Saskatchewan’s history. Agriculture was very dominant, and the period was marked by rapid population growth, surpassing neighbouring Alberta during the 1920s.

When he arrived in Swift Current, Smith formed a partnership with an acquaintance, Alexander Wallace, and the two became official agents of Confederation Life. Their company, known then as Wallace & Smith, later expanded into buying and selling real estate.

In 1914, Smith married Islay Fyffe, the daughter of a staff sergeant in the Royal Northwest Mounted Police, and they eventually had four children: Elizabeth, Jack, William Jr., and Jerry. They settled into one of Swift Current’s finest homes. In 1920, Smith’s association with Wallace ended, and Smith partnered with John Paisley to establish W.W. Smith Agency, a general insurance agency.

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