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After serving as mayor of Dunnville and warden of Haldimand County along with various other municipal posts, Allan was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 1951 provincial election as the Progressive Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Haldimand—Norfolk. In 1955, he was appointed by Ontario Premier Leslie Frost to the cabinet as Minister of Highways. At the time, this was the government's largest department, and Allan oversaw a budget of $200 million. He was in charge of 8,000 employees. During his term, 10,000 miles of highways were built.

In 1958, Allan became Frost's finance minister, and introduced the province's first sales tax, nicknamed the "Frost bite" at a rate of 3%. When Frost retired, Allan ran in the 1961 PC leadership convention, placing fourth.

Allan had the title of Treasurer in the new cabinet of John Robarts until 1966 when he entered semi-retirement at the age of 71 and became a minister without portfolio. He was the last Ontario finance minister to report a budget surplus until the late 1990s. He retired from cabinet altogether in 1968, although he kept his seat in the legislature until retiring from politics altogether when the 1975 election was called.

From 1967 until 1988, Allan served as Chair of the Niagara Parks Commission. On his 90th birthday the Burlington Skyway Bridge was officially renamed the "Burlington Bay James N. Allan Skyway".   (Source - Wikipedia)