This is a list of the Parliaments of the Ontario Legislative Assembly, the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, since Canadian Confederation in 1867. The Legislative Assembly has existed since 1867 when the British North America Act, 1867 severed the Province of Canada into two new provinces, with the portion then called Canada West becoming Ontario. For the Parliaments prior to Confederation, see Parliament of the Province of Canada (1841 to 1867) and Parliament of Upper Canada (1791 to 1841).
The Province of Canada was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the Affairs of British North America following the Rebellions of 1837–1838.
Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North America—New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the Province of Canada —united to form a federation, becoming a fully independent country over the next century. Over its history, Canada's international borders have changed several times as it has added territories and provinces, making it the world's second-largest country by area.
The Parliament of Canada is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the House of Commons is dominant, with the Senate rarely opposing its will. The Senate reviews legislation from a less partisan standpoint and may initiate certain bills. The monarch or his representative, normally the governor general, provides royal assent to make bills into law.
A member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) is an elected member of the Legislative Assembly of the Canadian province of Ontario. Elsewhere in Canada, the titular designation "Member of Provincial Parliament" has also been used to refer to members of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada from 1791 to 1838, and to members of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec from 1955 to 1968.
John Sandfield Macdonald, was the joint premier of the Province of Canada from 1862 to 1864. He was also the first premier of Ontario from 1867 to 1871, one of the four founding provinces created at Confederation in 1867. He served as both premier and attorney general of Ontario from July 16, 1867, to December 20, 1871.
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal assent by the lieutenant governor of Ontario to become law. Together, the Legislative Assembly and Lieutenant Governor make up the unicameral Legislature of Ontario. The assembly meets at the Ontario Legislative Building at Queen's Park in the provincial capital of Toronto.
An electoral district in Canada is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based. It is officially known in Canadian French as a circonscription but frequently called a comté (county). In Canadian English it is also colloquially and more commonly known as a riding or constituency.
The Constitution Act, 1867, originally enacted as the British North America Act, 1867, is a major part of the Constitution of Canada. The act created a federal dominion and defines much of the operation of the Government of Canada, including its federal structure, the House of Commons, the Senate, the justice system, and the taxation system. In 1982, with the patriation of the Constitution, the British North America Acts which were originally enacted by the British Parliament, including this Act, were renamed. However, the acts are still known by their original names in records of the United Kingdom. Amendments were also made at this time: section 92A was added, giving provinces greater control over non-renewable natural resources.
Sir Richard William Scott, was a Canadian politician and cabinet minister.
The 1st Parliament of Ontario was in session from September 3, 1867, until February 25, 1871, just prior to the 1871 general election. This was the first session of the Legislature after Confederation succeeding the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada. The 1867 general election produced a tie between the Conservative Party led by John Sandfield Macdonald and the Liberal Party led by Archibald McKellar. Macdonald led a coalition government with the support of moderate Liberals.
The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario is the presiding officer of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
The Ontario Legislative Building is a structure in central Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It houses the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and the viceregal suite of the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario and offices for members of the provincial parliament (MPPs). The building is surrounded by Queen's Park, sitting on that part south of Wellesley Street, which is the former site of King's College, which was leased from the university by the municipal government of Toronto in 1859, for a "peppercorn" payment of CAD$1 per annum on a 999-year term. The southern portion of the site was later handed over to the provincial government.
The First Ontario Parliament Buildings were built between 1829 and 1832 near Front, John, Simcoe and Wellington Streets in what was then York, Upper Canada. They served as the parliament buildings for Upper Canada, the Province of Canada, and the province of Ontario after Canadian Confederation in 1867.
The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the Parliament of the Province of Canada. The Province of Canada consisted of the former province of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East, and Upper Canada, then known as Canada West. It was created by The Union Act, 1840.
The Legislative Council of the Province of Canada was the upper house for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper Canada, then known as Canada West and later the province of Ontario. It was created by The Union Act of 1840. With the lower house, the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada, the two houses constituted the Parliament of the Province of Canada.
In Canada, a lieutenant governor is the representative of the king of Canada in the government of each province. The governor general of Canada appoints the lieutenant governors on the advice of the prime minister of Canada to carry out most of the monarch's constitutional and ceremonial duties for an unfixed period of time—known as serving "His Excellency’s pleasure"—though five years is the normal convention. Similar positions in Canada's three territories are termed "Commissioners" and are representatives of the federal government, not the monarch directly.
The timeline of elections in Canada covers all the provincial, territorial and federal elections from when each province was joined Confederation through to the present day. The table below indicates which party won the election. Several provinces held elections before joining Canada, but only their post-Confederation elections are shown. These include:
The Parliament of the Province of Canada was the legislature for the Province of Canada, made up of the two regions of Canada West and Canada East.
Section 69 of the Constitution Act, 1867 is a provision of the Constitution of Canada creating the Legislature of the province of Ontario, which did not exist prior to 1867. The Constitution Act, 1867 created Ontario, including the institutions of the new provincial government, such as the Legislature.