- List of premiers of Ontario
-
This is a list of the premiers of the province of Ontario, Canada, since Confederation in 1867. Ontario uses a unicameral Westminster-style parliamentary government, in which the premier is the leader of the party that controls the most seats in the Legislative Assembly. The premier is Ontario's head of government, while the Queen of Canada is its head of state and is represented by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. The premier picks a cabinet from the elected members to form the Executive Council of Ontario, and presides over that body.
Members are first elected to the legislature during general elections. General elections must be conducted every four years from the date of the last election. An election may also happen if the Governing party loses the confidence of the legislature, by the defeat of a supply bill or tabling of a confidence motion.
This article only covers the time since the Canadian Confederation was created in 1867. For the premiers of Canada West from 1840 to 1867, see List of Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada. The governments of Upper Canada from 1792 to 1840 were mostly controlled by representatives of the Crown.
Contents
Premiers of Ontario since 1867
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario United Farmers of Ontario Ontario Liberal Party Ontario New Democratic Party
Premier
(party)Period Assem-
bliesElections (Riding) 1st John Sandfield Macdonald
(Liberal-Conservative)Jul. 15, 1867
Dec. 20, 1871...
1stDesignated Jul. 15, 1867
Elected Sep. 3, 1867 to a coalition[1] (Cornwall)2nd Edward Blake
(Liberal)Dec. 20, 1871
Oct. 25, 18722nd
...Elected Mar. 21, 1871 (Bruce South)
Resigned (moved to federal politics) Oct. 25, 1872[2]3rd Sir Oliver Mowat
(Liberal)Oct. 25, 1872
Jul. 21, 1896...
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
...Designated Oct. 25, 1872 (Oxford North)
Re-elected Jan. 18, 1875 (Oxford North)
Re-elected Jun. 5, 1879 (Oxford North)
Re-elected Feb. 27, 1883 (Oxford North)
Re-elected Dec. 28, 1886 (Oxford North)
Re-elected Jun. 5, 1890 (Oxford North)
Re-elected Jun. 26, 1894 (Oxford North)
Resigned (Retired) Jul. 21, 18964th Arthur Hardy
(Liberal)Jul. 21, 1896
Oct. 20, 1899...
9th
...Designated Jul. 21, 1896 (Brant South)
Re-elected Mar. 1, 1898 (Brant South)
Resigned (Retired) Oct. 20, 18995th Sir George William Ross
(Liberal)Oct. 20, 1899
Feb. 8, 1905...
10thDesignated Oct. 20, 1899 (Middlesex West)
Re-elected May 29, 1902 (Middlesex West)6th Sir James Whitney
(Conservative)Feb. 8, 1905
Sep. 25, 191411th
12th
13th
14th
...Elected Jan. 25, 1905 (Dundas)
Re-elected Jun. 8, 1908 (Dundas)
Re-elected Dec. 11, 1911 (Dundas)
Re-elected Jun. 29, 1914 (Dundas)
Died in office Sep. 25, 19147th Sir William Hearst
(Conservative)Oct. 2, 1914
Nov. 14, 1919... Designated Oct. 2, 1914 (Sault Ste. Marie) 8th Ernest Drury
(Farmer)Nov. 14, 1919
Jul. 16, 192315th Elected Oct. 20, 1919 coalition[3] (Halton)[4] 9th George Howard Ferguson
(Conservative)Jul. 16, 1923
Dec. 16, 193016th
17th
18th
...Elected Jun. 25, 1923 (Grenville)
Re-elected Dec. 1, 1926 (Grenville)
Re-elected Oct. 30, 1929 (Grenville)
Resigned (changed jobs) Dec. 16, 193010th George Stewart Henry
(Conservative)Dec. 16, 1930
Jul. 10, 1934... Designated Dec. 16, 1930 (York East) 11th Mitchell Hepburn
(Liberal)Jul. 10, 1934
Oct. 21, 194219th
20th
...Elected Jun. 19, 1934 (Elgin)
Re-elected Oct. 6, 1937 (Elgin)
Resigned (Retired) Oct. 21, 194212th Gordon Daniel Conant
(Liberal)Oct. 21, 1942
May 18, 1943...
...Designated Oct. 21, 1942 (Ontario)
Resigned (Retired) May 18, 194313th Harry Nixon
(Liberal)May 18, 1943
Aug. 17, 1943... Designated May 18, 1943 (Brant) 14th George Drew
(Progressive Conservative)Aug. 17, 1943
Oct. 19, 194821st
22nd
23rd
...Elected Aug. 4, 1943 to a minority (High Park)
Re-elected Jun. 4, 1945 (High Park)
Re-elected Jun. 7, 1948 (none[5])
Resigned (Retired) Oct. 19, 194815th Thomas Kennedy
(Progressive Conservative)Oct. 19, 1948
May 4, 1949...
...Designated Oct. 19, 1948 (Peel)
Resigned (Retired) May 4, 194916th Leslie Frost
(Progressive Conservative)May 4, 1949
Nov. 8, 1961...
24th
25th
26th
...Designated May 4, 1949 (Victoria)
Re-elected Nov. 22, 1951 (Victoria)
Re-elected Jun. 9, 1955 (Victoria)
Re-elected Jun. 11, 1959 (Victoria)
Resigned (Stepped down) Nov. 8, 196117th John Robarts
(Progressive Conservative)Nov. 8, 1961
Mar. 1, 1971...
27th
28th
...Designated Nov. 8, 1961 (London North)
Re-elected Sep. 25, 1963 (London North)
Re-elected Oct. 17, 1967 (London North)
Resigned (Retired) Mar. 1, 197118th Bill Davis
(Progressive Conservative)Mar. 1, 1971
Feb. 8, 1985...
29th
30th
31st
32nd
...Designated Mar. 1, 1971 (Peel North)
Re-elected Oct. 21, 1971 (Peel North)
Re-elected Sep. 18, 1975 to a minority (Brampton)
Re-elected Jun. 9, 1977 to a minority (Brampton)
Re-elected Mar. 19, 1981 (Brampton)
Resigned (Retired) Feb. 8, 198519th Frank Miller
(Progressive Conservative)Feb. 8, 1985
Jun. 26, 1985...
33rd
...Designated Feb. 8 1985 (Muskoka)
Re-elected May 2, 1985 to a minority (Muskoka)
Resigned (lost confidence motion)[6] Jun. 26, 198520th David Peterson
(Liberal)Jun. 26, 1985
Oct. 1, 1990...
34thDesignated Jun. 26, 1985 to a minority (London Centre)
Re-elected Sep. 10, 1987 (London Centre)21st Bob Rae
(NDP)Oct. 1, 1990
Jun. 26, 199535th Elected Sep. 6, 1990 (York South) 22nd Mike Harris
(Progressive Conservative)Jun. 26, 1995
Apr. 14, 200236th
37th
...Elected Jun. 8, 1995 (Nipissing)
Re-elected Jun. 3, 1999 (Nipissing)
Resigned (Retired) Apr. 15, 200223rd Ernie Eves
(Progressive Conservative)Apr. 15, 2002
Oct. 22, 2003... Designated March 23, 2002 (Dufferin—Peel—Wellington—Grey) 24th Dalton McGuinty
(Liberal)Oct. 23, 2003
Incumbent38th
39th
40thElected Oct. 2, 2003 (Ottawa South)
Re-elected Oct. 10, 2007 (Ottawa South)
Re-elected Oct. 6, 2011 to a minority (Ottawa South)Living former premiers
As of March 2011[update], five former premiers are alive, the oldest being Bill Davis (1971–1985, born 1929). The most recent former premier to die was Frank Miller (1985), on July 21, 2000.
Name Term Date of birth Bill Davis 1971–1985 July 30, 1929 David Peterson 1985–1990 December 28, 1943 Bob Rae 1990–1995 August 2, 1948 Mike Harris 1995–2002 January 23, 1945 Ernie Eves 2002–2003 June 17, 1946 See also
- List of premiers of Ontario by time in office
- List of Leaders of the Opposition in Ontario
For more lists of this type, see Lists of incumbents.
Notes
- ^ Macdonald led a Coalition between the Liberal-Conservative Party and the Liberal Party.
- ^ Resigned to lead the federal Liberal Party when the "dual mandate" rule was abolished
- ^ Drury led a Coalition between the United Farmers Party and the Labour Party.
- ^ Drury did not win a seat in the legislature until a 1920 by-election.
- ^ Drew won the election for his party, but lost his own seat in High Park and resigned rather than seeking a bi-election.
- ^ Miller's Progressive Conservatives had more seats than Peterson's Liberals in the 33rd legislature, but Peterson had the formal support of the NDP through a signed accord. The two parties defeated Miller with a Motion of no confidence immediately after the election and formed government under Peterson without an official coalition.
References
- James H. Marsh, ed (1999). "Ontario". The Canadian Encyclopedia (2000 ed.). Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. pp. 1713. ISBN 0-7710-2099-6.
- Government of Ontario. "Historical Records". Past & Present MPPs. Legislative Assembly of Ontario. http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/members/members_all.do?locale=en. Retrieved 2007-03-11.
Lists of Canadian first ministers
Federal Provincial Current · History · Women · British Columbia • Alberta • Saskatchewan • Manitoba • Ontario • Quebec • New Brunswick • Prince Edward Island • Nova Scotia • Newfoundland and LabradorTerritorial Politics of Ontario Crown in Ontario Elizabeth IILieutenant Governor Premier Opposition Leader Speaker of the Assembly Legislature Political parties Elections Current issues Other Canadian politics Categories:- Lists of Canadian first ministers
- Premiers of Ontario
- Ontario-related lists
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.