Ministry of Finance (Ontario)

The Ministry of Finance is a ministry of the Government of Ontario responsible for managing the province's fiscal policy, developing the provincial budget, and financial sector regulation. The minister of finance – called the treasurer before 1993 – leads the ministry and is responsible to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

Ministry of Finance
Ministère des finances (French)
Government ministry overview
Formed1867
JurisdictionGovernment of Ontario
Headquarters33 King Street West
Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
43°53′49.812″N 78°51′53.675″W / 43.89717000°N 78.86490972°W / 43.89717000; -78.86490972
Ministers responsible
Websitewww.fin.gov.on.ca

History

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For most of the period from 1867 until 1993, the minister was called the treasurer or provincial treasurer.[1]

The ministry were renamed the Ministry of Economics in 1956 and the minister became known as Minister in charge of Economics instead of treasurer. From January to December 1961, the ministry became the Ministry of Economics and Federal and Provincial Relations. The title of treasurer was revived in December 1961 with the minister also often holding the secondary title of minister of economics or some variation after 1968. Frank Miller had the sole title of minister of economics from 1978 until 1981 when he was given the additional title of treasurer. At various times in the 1960s and 1970s the minister also held the titles of chairman of the management board of cabinet, chairman of the treasury board and/or minister of revenue. This practice was revived in recent years with Greg Sorbara acting as finance minister and chair of both the management board and the treasury board. It has ended as there is now a different person holding the position of chair of the management and treasury board.

In 1993, the positions of treasurer and minister of economics were formally combined and renamed the minister of finance.

In early 2007, Premier Dalton McGuinty split the province's revenue collection function from the Ministry of Finance and resurrected the Ministry of Revenue,[2] a portfolio that had not been used since the Ontario New Democratic Party government of Bob Rae in 1993. Following the 2011 Ontario general election, the Ministry of Revenue was merged back into the Ministry of Finance.

List of ministers

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Portrait Name Term of office Tenure Political party
(Ministry)
Note
Treasurer
  Edmund Burke Wood July 20, 1867 December 20, 1871 4 years, 153 days Liberal
Conservative

(MacDonald)
  Alexander Mackenzie December 20, 1871 October 25, 1872 310 days Liberal
(Blake)
  Adam Crooks October 25, 1872 March 19, 1877 4 years, 145 days Liberal
(Mowat)
  Samuel Wood March 19, 1877 June 2, 1883 6 years, 75 days Concurrently Commissioner of Agriculture
  James Young June 2, 1883 November 1, 1883 152 days Concurrently Commissioner of Agriculture
Alexander Ross November 2, 1883 September 16, 1890 6 years, 318 days Concurrently Commissioner of Agriculture (November 2, 1883 - May 1, 1888)
  Richard Harcourt September 16, 1890 July 21, 1896 9 years, 35 days
July 21, 1896 October 21, 1899 Liberal
(Hardy)
  George William Ross October 21, 1899 February 8, 1905 5 years, 110 days Liberal
(Ross)
While Premier
Arthur Matheson February 8, 1905 January 25, 1913 7 years, 352 days Conservative
(Whitney)
  Isaac Lucas May 13, 1913 October 2, 1914 1 year, 223 days
October 2, 1914 December 22, 1914 Conservative
(Hearst)
  Thomas McGarry December 22, 1914 November 14, 1919 4 years, 327 days
Peter Smith November 14, 1919 April 16, 1923 3 years, 153 days United Farmers
(Drury)
William Herbert Price July 16, 1923 October 18, 1926 3 years, 94 days Conservative
(Ferguson)
Joseph Monteith October 18, 1926 September 16, 1930 3 years, 333 days
Edward Arunah Dunlop September 16, 1930 December 15, 1930 3 years, 106 days
December 15, 1930 December 31, 1933 Conservative
(Henry)
  George Stewart Henry January 12, 1934 July 10, 1934 179 days While Premier
  Mitchell Hepburn July 10, 1934 October 21, 1942 8 years, 236 days Liberal
(Hepburn)
While Premier
October 21, 1942 March 3, 1943 Liberal
(Conant)
Arthur Gordon March 3, 1943 May 18, 1943 167 days
May 18, 1943 August 17, 1943 Liberal
(Nixon)
  Leslie Frost August 17, 1943 October 19, 1948 12 years, 0 days
(first instance)
PC
(Drew)
Concurrently Minister of Mines
October 19, 1948 May 4, 1949 PC
(Kennedy)
Concurrently Minister of Mines
May 4, 1949 August 17, 1955 PC
(Frost)
While Premier
  Dana Porter August 17, 1955 March 28, 1956 2 years, 166 days
Minister in Charge of the Department of Economics
  Dana Porter March 28, 1956 January 30, 1958
  Leslie Frost February 3, 1958 April 28, 1958 84 days
(second instance)
(12 years, 84 days in total)
While Premier
James Allan April 28, 1958 January 27, 1961 8 years, 210 days Concurrently Minister of Public Works (May 14, 1958 – December 22, 1958)
Minister of Economics and Federal and Provincial Relations
James Allan January 27, 1961 December 15, 1961
Treasurer PC
(Robarts)
James Allan December 15, 1961 November 24, 1966 Also Chair of the Treasury Board
Charles MacNaughton November 24, 1966 July 23, 1968 4 years, 97 days
(first instance)
Also Chair of the Treasury Board
Treasurer and Minister of Economics
Charles MacNaughton July 23, 1968 March 1, 1971 Also Chair of the Treasury Board
Darcy McKeough March 1, 1971 April 7, 1972 1 year, 190 days
(first instance)
PC
(Davis)
Also Chair of the Treasury Board
Treasurer and Minister of Economics and Intergovernmental Affairs
Darcy McKeough April 10, 1972 September 7, 1972
Charles MacNaughton September 7, 1972 March 15, 1973 130 days
(second instance)
(4 years, 286 days in total)
John White January 15, 1973 June 18, 1975 2 years, 154 days
Darcy McKeough June 18, 1975 August 16, 1978 3 years, 59 days
(second instance)
(4 years, 249 days in total)
Frank Miller August 16, 1978 August 30, 1979 4 years, 319 days
Treasurer and Minister of Economics
Frank Miller August 30, 1979 July 1, 1983
Larry Grossman July 6, 1983 February 8, 1985 1 year, 299 days
Treasurer PC
(Miller)
Larry Grossman February 8, 1985 May 1, 1985
Bette Stephenson May 17, 1985 June 26, 1985 40 days While Deputy Premier
Treasurer and Minister of Economics Liberal
(Peterson)
  Robert Nixon June 26, 1985 October 1, 1990 5 years, 97 days Concurrently Minister of Revenue (June 26, 1985 – September 29, 1987), Interim Chair of Management Board of Cabinet (June 17, 1986 – September 29, 1987), and Minister of Financial Institutions (September 29, 1987 – August 16, 1988)
Floyd Laughren October 1, 1990 February 1, 1993 4 years, 268 days NDP
(Rae)
Minister of Finance
Floyd Laughren February 1, 1993 June 26, 1995
Ernie Eves June 26, 1995 February 8, 2001 5 years, 227 days PC
(Harris)
While Deputy Premier
  Jim Flaherty February 8, 2001 April 14, 2002 1 year, 65 days While Deputy Premier
Janet Ecker April 15, 2002 October 22, 2003 1 year, 190 days PC
(Eves)
Minister of Finance and Chair of the Management Board of Cabinet Liberal
(McGuinty)
Greg Sorbara October 23, 2003 October 11, 2005 1 year, 353 days
(first instance)
Dwight Duncan October 11, 2005 May 23, 2006 224 days
(first instance)
Interim minister
Greg Sorbara May 23, 2006 October 30, 2007 1 year, 160 days
(second instance)
(3 years, 148 days in total)
Dwight Duncan October 30, 2007 February 11, 2013 5 years, 104 days
(second instance)
(5 years, 328 days in total)
Concurrently Minister of Revenue (September 18, 2008 – June 24, 2009), Deputy Premier (October 20, 2011 – February 11, 2013), Interim Minister of Government Services (November 27, 2012 – February 11, 2013)
Charles Sousa February 11, 2013 June 24, 2014 5 years, 138 days Liberal
(Wynne)
Minister of Finance
Charles Sousa June 24, 2014 June 29, 2018 The following served as Associate Minister of Finance (Ontario Retirement Pension Plan)
Mitzie Hunter (June 24, 2014 – June 13, 2016)
Indira Naidoo-Harris (June 13, 2016 – August 24, 2016)
  Vic Fedeli June 29, 2018 June 20, 2019 356 days PC
(Ford)
While Chair of Cabinet
  Rod Phillips June 20, 2019 December 31, 2020 1 year, 194 days
Peter Bethlenfalvy December 31, 2020 present 3 years, 329 days

References

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  1. ^ "TVO Today | Current Affairs Journalism, Documentaries and Podcasts". www.tvo.org. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  2. ^ "Michael Chan Becomes Ontario's Minister Of Revenue". Office of the Premier of Ontario. February 21, 2007. Retrieved February 3, 2011.
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