List of Ontario premiers.html
 
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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 acts as Ontario's head of government, while the Queen of Canada acts as 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 coalition1 (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, 18722
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 coalition3 (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 (none5)
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
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
Dec. 29, 2008		 38th
39th		 Elected Oct. 2, 2003 (Ottawa South)
Re-elected Oct. 10, 2007 (Ottawa South)

Notes

  1. ^ Macdonald led a Coalition between the Liberal-Conservative Party and the Liberal Party.
  2. ^ Resigned to lead the federal Liberal Party when the "dual mandate" rule was abolished
  3. ^ Drury led a Coalition between the United Farmers Party and the Labour Party.
  4. ^ Drury did not win a seat in the legislature until a 1920 by-election.
  5. ^ Drew won the election for his party, but lost his own seat in High Park and resigned rather than seeking a bi-election.
  6. ^ 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

See also

For more lists of this type, see Lists of incumbents.

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