List of premiers of Ontario
Dalton McGuinty is the current premier 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- blies |
Elections (Riding) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
1st | John Sandfield Macdonald (Liberal-Conservative) |
Jul. 15, 1867 Dec. 20, 1871 |
... 1st |
Designated Jul. 15, 1867 Elected Sep. 3, 1867 to a coalition[1] (Cornwall) |
 |
2nd | Edward Blake (Liberal) |
Dec. 20, 1871 Oct. 25, 1872 |
2nd ... |
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, 1896 |
 |
4th | 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, 1899 |
 |
5th | Sir George William Ross (Liberal) |
Oct. 20, 1899 Feb. 8, 1905 |
... 10th |
Designated Oct. 20, 1899 (Middlesex West) Re-elected May 29, 1902 (Middlesex West) |
 |
6th | Sir James Whitney (Conservative) |
Feb. 8, 1905 Sep. 25, 1914 |
11th 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, 1914 |
 |
7th | 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, 1923 |
15th | Elected Oct. 20, 1919 coalition[3] (Halton)[4] |
 |
9th | George Howard Ferguson (Conservative) |
Jul. 16, 1923 Dec. 16, 1930 |
16th 17th 18th ... |
Elected Jun. 25, 1923 (Grenville) Re-elected Dec. 1, 1926 (Grenville) Re-elected Oct. 30, 1929 (Grenville) Resigned (changed jobs) Dec. 16, 1930 |
 |
10th | 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, 1942 |
19th 20th ... |
Elected Jun. 19, 1934 (Elgin) Re-elected Oct. 6, 1937 (Elgin) Resigned (Retired) Oct. 21, 1942 |
 |
12th | Gordon Daniel Conant (Liberal) |
Oct. 21, 1942 May 18, 1943 |
... ... |
Designated Oct. 21, 1942 (Ontario) Resigned (Retired) May 18, 1943 |
 |
13th | Harry Nixon (Liberal) |
May 18, 1943 Aug. 17, 1943 |
... | Designated May 18, 1943 (Brant) |
 |
14th | George Drew (Progressive Conservative) |
Aug. 17, 1943 Oct. 19, 1948 |
21st 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, 1948 |
 |
15th | Thomas Kennedy (Progressive Conservative) |
Oct. 19, 1948 May 4, 1949 |
... ... |
Designated Oct. 19, 1948 (Peel) Resigned (Retired) May 4, 1949 |
 |
16th | 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, 1961 |
| 17th | 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, 1971 |
|
| 18th | 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, 1985 |
|
| 19th | 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 (opposition parties sign The Accord)[6] Jun. 26, 1985 |
|
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20th | David Peterson (Liberal) |
Jun. 26, 1985 Oct. 1, 1990 |
... 34th |
Designated Jun. 26, 1985 to a minority (London Centre) Re-elected Sep. 10, 1987 (London Centre) |
 |
21st | Bob Rae (NDP) |
Oct. 1, 1990 Jun. 26, 1995 |
35th | Elected Sep. 6, 1990 (York South) |
| 22nd | Mike Harris (Progressive Conservative) |
Jun. 26, 1995 Apr. 14, 2002 |
36th 37th ... |
Elected Jun. 8, 1995 (Nipissing) Re-elected Jun. 3, 1999 (Nipissing) Resigned (Retired) Apr. 15, 2002 |
|
| 23rd | 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 Incumbent as at Feb. 14, 2011 |
38th 39th |
Elected Oct. 2, 2003 (Ottawa South) Re-elected Oct. 10, 2007 (Ottawa South) |
Living former premiers
As of January 2010[update], five former premiers are alive, the oldest being Bill Davis (1971–1985, born 1929). The most recent 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 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.
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