William Sutherland Maxwell was a well-known Canadian architect and a Hand of the Cause in the Baháʼí Faith. He was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada to parents Edward John Maxwell and Johan MacBean.

Hand of the Cause was a title given to prominent early members of the Baháʼí Faith, appointed for life by the religion's founders. Of the fifty individuals given the title, the last living was ʻAlí-Muhammad Varqá who died in 2007. Hands of the Cause played a significant role in propagating the religion, and protecting it from schism.