The Government of Ontario () is the body responsible for the administration of the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. The term ''Government of Ontario'' refers specifically to the executive—political

ministers of the Crown Minister of the Crown is a formal constitutional term used in Commonwealth realms to describe a minister of the reigning sovereign or viceroy. The term indicates that the minister serves at His Majesty's pleasure, and advises the sovereign o ...

(the Cabinet/Executive Council), appointed on the advice of the premier, and the

non-partisan Nonpartisanship, also known as nonpartisanism, is a lack of affiliation with a political party and a lack of political bias. While an ''Oxford English Dictionary'' definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., ...

Ontario

Public Service A public service or service of general (economic) interest is any service intended to address the needs of aggregate members of a community, whether provided directly by a public sector agency, via public financing available to private busin ...

(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 ().

Role of the Crown

, 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 The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...

. Within Canada, the monarch exercises power individually on behalf of the

federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

, and the 10 provinces.

Lieutenant governor

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". The lieutenant governor is appointed by the

governor general Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

, on the advice of the

prime minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada () is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons ...

. Thus, it is typically the lieutenant governor whom the premier and ministers advise, exercising much of the

royal prerogative The royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, Privilege (law), privilege, and immunity recognised in common law (and sometimes in Civil law (legal system), civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy) as belonging to the monarch, so ...

and granting

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...

. 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.

King-in-Council

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

Premier and Executive Council

The term ''Government of Ontario'', or more formally, '' 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

Ontario Public Service and directed by the elected government.

Premier

The premier of Ontario is the first

minister of the Crown Minister of the Crown is a formal constitutional term used in Commonwealth realms to describe a minister of the reigning sovereign or viceroy. The term indicates that the minister serves at His Majesty's pleasure, and advises the sovereign ...

. The premier acts as the

head of government In the Executive (government), executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presid ...

for the province, chairs and selects the membership of the Cabinet, and advises the Crown on the exercise of

executive power The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law. Function The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In ...

and much of the

. 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 A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

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 A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

or defeat in a

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

. In Canada, the Cabinet () of provincial and territorial governments are known as an Executive Council (). The

premier of Ontario The premier of Ontario () is the head of government of Ontario. Under the Westminster system, the premier governs with the confidence of a majority the elected Legislative Assembly; as such, the premier typically sits as a member of Provincia ...

Doug Ford Douglas Robert Ford Jr. (born November 20, 1964) is a Canadian politician and businessman who has served as the 26th and current premier of Ontario and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party since 2018. He represents the Toronto rid ...

of the Progressive Conservatives since the 2018 election; the 26th since

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

Cabinet membership

Crown corporations

Ontario Public Service

The Government of Ontario employs 63,000+ public servants in its non-partisan workforce called the Ontario Public Service (OPS). 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. Over 80% of the OPS workforce is unionized, which includes the

Ontario Public Service Employees Union The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU; ) is a trade union representing public sector employees in the province of Ontario, Canada. It claims a membership of approximately 180,000 members. OPSEU was established in 1975 as the successo ...

and the Association of Management, Administrative and Professional Crown Employees of Ontario. 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. Public servants who are paid $100,000 or more are subject to the ''Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act.'' This list is colloquially known as the sunshine list.

Role of the Crown

Lieutenant governor

King-in-Council

Premier and Executive Council

Premier

Cabinet membership

Crown corporations

Ontario Public Service

ontario.ca

See also

References

Works cited

External links