Government of Ontario

Government of Ontario
Provincial government
Logo of the Province of Ontario
Overview
Established	July 1, 1867 (1867-07-01)
State	Ontario
Country	Canada
Leader	Premier Doug Ford
Appointed by	Lieutenant Governor Edith Dumont
Main organ	Executive Council
Responsible to	Legislative Assembly
Headquarters	Toronto
Website	www.ontario.ca

Politics of Ontario
Crown
Monarch: King Charles III Lieutenant Governor (list): Edith Dumont
Provincial legislature
Legislative Assembly of Ontario Speaker: Ted Arnott Current assembly (list) Political parties Progressive Conservative New Democratic Liberal Green Recent elections: 2018 2022 Next By-elections Electoral districts
Government
Premier (list): Doug Ford Cabinet: Executive Council of Ontario Official Opposition Opposition Leader: Marit Stiles Shadow cabinet
See also
Politics of Canada
Politics by province / territory
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The Government of Ontario (French: Gouvernement de l'Ontario) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Ontario. The term Government of Ontario refers specifically to the executive—political ministers of the Crown (the Cabinet/Executive Council), appointed on the advice of the premier, and the non-partisan Ontario Public Service (whom the Executive Council directs), who staff ministries and agencies to deliver government policies, programs, and services—which corporately brands itself as the Government of Ontario, or more formally, His Majesty's Government of Ontario (French: Gouvernement de l’Ontario de Sa Majesté).^[1]

King Charles III, as monarch of Canada is also the King in Right of Ontario. As a Commonwealth realm, the Canadian monarch is shared with 14 other independent countries within the Commonwealth of Nations.^[7] Within Canada, the monarch exercises power individually on behalf of the federal government, and the 10 provinces.

The powers of the Crown are vested in the monarch and are exercised by the lieutenant governor. The advice of the premier and Executive Council is typically binding; the Constitution Act, 1867 requires executive power to be exercised only "by and with the Advice of the Executive Council".^[8]

The lieutenant governor is appointed by the governor general, on the advice of the prime minister of Canada.^[12] Thus, it is typically the lieutenant governor whom the premier and ministers advise, exercising much of the royal prerogative and granting royal assent.

While the advice of the premier and Executive Council is typically binding on the lieutenant governor, there are occasions when the lieutenant governor has refused advice. This usually occurs if the premier does not clearly command the confidence of the elected Legislative Assembly.

The executive power is vested in the Crown and exercised "in-Council", meaning on the advice of the Executive Council; conventionally, this is the Cabinet, which is chaired by the premier and comprises ministers of the Crown.

The term Government of Ontario, or more formally, His Majesty's Government refers to the activities of the Lieutenant Governor-in-Council. The day-to-day operation and activities of the Government of Ontario are performed by the provincial departments and agencies, staffed by the non-partisan Ontario Public Service and directed by the elected government.

The premier of Ontario is the first minister of the Crown. The premier acts as the head of government for the province, chairs and selects the membership of the Cabinet, and advises the Crown on the exercise of executive power and much of the royal prerogative. As premiers hold office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the elected Legislative Assembly, they typically sit as a MPP and lead the largest party or a coalition in the Assembly. Once sworn in, the premier holds office until their resignation or removal by the lieutenant governor after either a motion of no confidence or defeat in a general election.^[13]

In Canada, the Cabinet (French: Conseil des ministres, lit. 'council of ministers') of provincial and territorial governments are known as an Executive Council (French: Conseil exécutif).

The premier of Ontario is Doug Ford of the Progressive Conservatives since the 2018 election; the 26th since Confederation.

The Government of Ontario employs 63,000+ public servants in its non-partisan workforce called the Ontario Public Service (OPS).^[15] The OPS helps the government design and deliver policies and programs. The head of the OPS is the Secretary of Cabinet and each ministry in the OPS has a Deputy Minister. The OPS public servants work in areas like administration, communications, data analytics, finance, information technology, law, policy, program development, service delivery, science and research.^[16]

Over 80% of the OPS workforce is unionized, which includes the Ontario Public Service Employees Union and the Association of Management, Administrative and Professional Crown Employees of Ontario.^[17]

The Government of Ontario is not the same as Broader Public Sector (BPS) organizations. While both provide goods and services to Ontarians, BPS organizations receive funding from the Government of Ontario, but are not a part of the government themselves. BPS organizations are also subject to legislation and directives.^[18]

Public servants who are paid $100,000 or more are subject to the Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act.^[19] This list is colloquially known as the sunshine list.

• Politics of Ontario
• Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
• Premier of Ontario
• Legislative Assembly of Ontario
• Executive Council of Ontario

• Brooks, Stephen (2007). Canadian Democracy: An Introduction (5 ed.). Don Mills: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-543103-2.
• MacLeod, Kevin S. (2008), A Crown of Maples (PDF) (1 ed.), Ottawa: Queen's Printer for Canada, ISBN 978-0-662-46012-1, retrieved 21 June 2009

• Official website