Premiers of Ontario since 1867
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Electoral mandates (Assembly) | Political party | Parliamentary seat | Cabinet | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | John Sandfield Macdonald (1812–1872) | 16 July 1867 – 20 December 1871 | Title created (caretaker government) | Conservative | MLA for Cornwall | Macdonald ministry | [1] | |
| Macdonald led a Coalition (the "Patent Combination") between the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party; was also an MP in the House of Commons (as a Liberal) until 1872. | |||||||||
| 2 |  | Edward Blake (1833–1912) | 20 December 1871 – 25 October 1872 | 1871 election (2nd Leg.) | Liberal | MLA for Bruce South | Blake ministry | [2] | |
| Simultaneously a federal MP; resigned after dual mandates were abolished to concentrate on federal politics. | |||||||||
| 3 |  | Sir Oliver Mowat (1820–1903) | 25 October 1872 – 21 July 1896 | Appointment (2nd Leg.) | Liberal | MLA for Oxford North | Mowat ministry | [3] | |
| Secured a large amount of power for the provinces through court battles with the federal government; introduced the secret ballot in elections and extended suffrage beyond property owners; created the municipal level of government; 1894 Ontario prohibition plebiscite. Retired to enter federal politics. Was appointed lieutenant governor of Ontario in 1897. | |||||||||
| 4 |  | Arthur Sturgis Hardy (1837–1901) | 21 July 1896 – 21 October 1899 | Appointment (8th Leg.) | Liberal | MLA for Brant South | Hardy ministry | [4] | |
| 5 |  | Sir George William Ross (1841–1914) | 21 October 1899 – 8 February 1905 | Appointment (9th Leg.) | Liberal | MLA for Middlesex West | Ross ministry | [5] | |
| Expanded libraries, kindergarten, and university grants; 1902 Ontario prohibition referendum | |||||||||
| 6 |  | Sir James Whitney (1843–1914) | 8 February 1905 – 25 September 1914 | 1905 election (11th Leg.) | Conservative | MLA for Dundas | Whitney ministry | [6] | |
| Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario; Workmen's Compensation Act; temperance legislation; Regulation 17; Only Premier to die in office (1914). | |||||||||
| 7 |  | Sir William Hearst (1864–1941) | 2 October 1914 – 14 November 1919 | Appointment (14th Leg.) | Conservative | MLA for Sault Ste. Marie | Hearst ministry | [7] | |
| Ontario Temperance Act ; expanded workers injury compensation; allowed woman suffrage; 1919 Ontario prohibition referendum | |||||||||
| 8 |  | Ernest Drury (1878–1968) | 14 November 1919 – 16 July 1923 | 1919 election (15th Leg.) | United Farmers | MLA for Halton | Drury ministry | [8] | |
| Led a Coalition between the United Farmers party and the Labour MLAs; did not win a seat in the legislature until a 1920 by-election; created the first Department of Welfare; set a minimum wage for women; expanded Ontario Hydro; created the Province of Ontario Savings Office; began the first major reforestation program in North America; 1921 Ontario prohibition referendum | |||||||||
| 9 |  | Howard Ferguson (1870–1946) | 16 July 1923 – 15 December 1930 | 1923 election (16th Leg.) | Conservative (Ldr. 1920) | MLA for Grenville | Ferguson ministry | [9] | |
| Relaxed Regulation 17; created the Liquor Control Board of Ontario; 1924 Ontario prohibition referendum | |||||||||
| 10 |  | George Stewart Henry (1871–1958) | 15 December 1930 – 10 July 1934 | Appointment (18th Leg.) | Conservative | MLA for York East | Henry ministry | [10] | |
| Expansion of highway system, including construction of what became the Queen Elizabeth Way | |||||||||
| 11 |  | Mitchell Hepburn (1896–1953) | 10 July 1934 – 21 October 1942 | 1934 election (19th Leg.) | Liberal (Ldr. 1930) | MLA for Elgin (MPP after 1938) | Hepburn ministry | [11] | |
| Greatly cutting government spending; succession tax; compulsory milk pasteurization; relaxed temperance laws; made the Dionne Quintuplets wards of the state; unsuccessfully tried to break the first United Auto Workers strike against GM; closed Chorley Park; conflict with PM Mackenzie King over conduct of WWII and conscription. | |||||||||
| 12 |  | Gordon Daniel Conant (1885–1953) | 21 October 1942 – 18 May 1943 | Appointment (20th Leg.) | Liberal | MPP for Ontario | Conant ministry | [12] | |
| "Appointed" premier by Liberal leader Mitchell Hepburn but forced to call and contest leadership convention due to caucus revolt, which he lost to Nixon. | |||||||||
| 13 |  | Harry Nixon (1891–1961) | 18 May 1943 – 17 August 1943 | Appointment (20th Leg.) | Liberal (Ldr. 1943) | MPP for Brant | Nixon ministry | [13] | |
| Long-time minister in UFO and Liberal governments. Called an election immediately after becoming premier and led his government to defeat. Shortest-serving Ontario premier but went on to be Ontario's longest-serving MPP. | |||||||||
| 14 |  | George A. Drew (1894–1973) | 17 August 1943 – 19 October 1948 | 1943 election (21st Leg.) | Progressive Conservative (Ldr. 1938) | MPP for High Park | Drew ministry | ^α [14] | |
| Began a 42-year Conservative dynasty; Drew Regulation; LeBel Royal Commission; joined Ontario to North American power grid, increased provincial share of Education spending; opened immigration offices in UK and arranged for cheap charter flights to bring 20,000 British immigrants to Ontario. | |||||||||
| 15 |  | Thomas Laird Kennedy (1878–1959) | 19 October 1948 – 4 May 1949 | Appointment (23rd Leg.) | Progressive Conservative | MPP for Peel | Kennedy ministry | [15] | |
| Interim leader between resignation of Drew and leadership convention to choose his successor. | |||||||||
| 16 |  | Leslie Frost (1895–1973) | 4 May 1949 – 8 November 1961 | Appointment (23rd Leg.) | Progressive Conservative (Ldr. 1949) | MPP for Victoria | Frost ministry | [16] | |
| 400-series highways; Provincial Sales Tax; public hospital insurance which would become OHIP; Expansion of universities; Fair Employment Practices Act and Fair Accommodation Practices Act and Ontario Human Rights Commission created; Voting rights for First Nations; Creation of Metropolitan Toronto and Toronto's first subway. | |||||||||
| 17 |  | John Robarts (1917–1982) | 8 November 1961 – 1 March 1971 | Appointment (26th Leg.) | Progressive Conservative (Ldr. 1961) | MPP for London North | Robarts ministry | [17] | |
| Ontario Human Rights Code; 1967 "Confederation of Tomorrow" conference; Ontario Housing Corporation created; French education in Ontario schools; Creation of Ontario Health Insurance Plan; Creation of community college system; Creation of TVOntario; Creation of GO Transit; Creation of the Ontario Science Centre. | |||||||||
| 18 |  | Bill Davis (1929–2021) | 1 March 1971 – 8 February 1985 | Appointment (28th Leg.) | Progressive Conservative (Ldr. 1971) | MPP for Peel North (1971-1975) MPP for Brampton | Davis ministry | [18] | |
| Spadina Expressway; rejected (1971) then later partly extended (1984); full funding to Ontario's Catholic high schools; expansion of health care and education; extension of Ontario Human Rights Code provisions; expansion of French-language services ; new regional governments; Rent controls; social housing expansion; Played a key role in patriation of the Canadian Constitution. | |||||||||
| 19 |  | Frank Miller (1927–2000) | 8 February 1985 – 26 June 1985 | Appointment (32nd Leg.) | Progressive Conservative (Ldr. 1985) | MPP for Muskoka | Miller ministry | [19] | |
| Lost a motion of no confidence immediately after the election and resigned power to the opposition party. | |||||||||
| 20 |  | David Peterson (b. 1943) | 26 June 1985 – 1 October 1990 | Appointment (33rd Leg.) | Liberal (Ldr. 1982) | MPP for London Centre | Peterson ministry | [20] | |
| Had the second-most seats in the 33rd assembly, but formed an accord with the New Democratic Party that would let the Liberal Party take power without forming an official coalition. Banned extra-billing by doctors and ended health insurance premiums. Reforms to rent laws, labour negotiation laws, pensions, environment; implemented extension of Catholic school funding to grade 13 announced by previous government; supported the Meech Lake Accord; Introduced no-fault auto insurance; Patti Starr scandal | |||||||||
| 21 |  | Bob Rae (b. 1948) | 1 October 1990 – 26 June 1995 | 1990 election (35th Leg.) | New Democratic (Ldr. 1982) | MPP for York South | Rae ministry | [21] | |
| Social Contract and clash with unions; Rae days; Pay equity; Affirmative action; Strengthening of rent control; anti-scab legislation; Reserve status for North Ontario Aboriginals; Moratorium on new nuclear plants; Attempted to maintain ban on Sunday shopping before allowing it; Introduction of casinos; Attempted to bring in extension of spousal benefits for same-sex partners. | |||||||||
| 22 |  | Mike Harris (b. 1945) | 26 June 1995 – 14 April 2002 | 1995 election (36th Leg.) | Progressive Conservative (Ldr. 1990) | MPP for Nipissing | Harris ministry | [22] | |
| Common Sense Revolution; 30% tax cut; 21% cut to social assistance rates; attempted to introduce Workfare; cancelled urban infrastructure projects including Eglinton subway; cut government spending; downloading of Ontario Housing to municipalities; provincial funding for municipal transit reduced; Telehealth Ontario created; division of Ontario Hydro; municipal amalgamations, including Amalgamation of Toronto; Elimination of OAC year (Grade 13) and re-introduction of standardized testing; privatization of Highway 407; Ipperwash Crisis; teacher strikes; $1B cut from Education; Walkerton Tragedy; Ontario's Drive Clean; hospital closures and health restructuring. | |||||||||
| 23 | | Ernie Eves (b. 1946) | 15 April 2002 – 22 October 2003 | Appointment (37th Leg.) | Progressive Conservative (Ldr. 2002) | MPP for Dufferin—Peel—Wellington—Grey | Eves ministry | [23] | |
| Kimberly Rogers and welfare reform; Possible sale of Hydro One and problem with hydro costs due to hot summers and 2003 North America blackout. | |||||||||
| 24 |  | Dalton McGuinty (b. 1955) | 23 October 2003 – 11 February 2013 | 2003 election (38th Leg.) | Liberal (Ldr. 1996) | MPP for Ottawa South | McGuinty ministry | [24] [25] [26] | |
| Green Energy and Economy Act; Auto insurance reforms; Cancelled tax cuts; Increase in health spending and Health Premium tax; Transfer of gas tax to municipalities; Breed-specific legislation aka ban on/government-sanctioned euthanization of 'pit bulls' and dogs considered to resemble 'pit bulls'; Established the Greenbelt; Renegotiation of federal equalization; Expansion of Ontario's Drive Clean; full-day kindergarten; MoveOntario; eHealth Ontario scandal; Harmonized Sales Tax; Ontario power plant scandal. On October 15, 2012, resigned unexpectedly and proroged the legislature. | |||||||||
| 25 |  | Kathleen Wynne (b. 1953) | 11 February 2013 – 29 June 2018 | Appointment (40th Leg.) | Liberal (Ldr. 2013) | MPP for Don Valley West | Wynne ministry | [27] [28] [29] [30] | |
| First female Premier of Ontario, first openly gay premier in Canada; Ontario-Québec Relations (500 megawatts (MW) of peak electricity sharing); Public Sector and MPP Accountability and Transparency Act ; The Great Lakes Protection Act; $30-billion investment into transportation across the province; privatization of Hydro One; allowed beer and wine to be sold in certain grocery stores;implementation of controversial updated sex education in public schools; raised the minimum wage in Ontario to $14; created the OHIP+ program to provide prescription drugs free for youth under 25; conflicted with the Auditor General and Financial Accountability Office over budgeting. On June 7, 2018, led party to worst defeat of a governing party in Ontario history. | |||||||||
| 26 |  | Doug Ford (b. 1964) | 29 June 2018 – incumbent | 2018 election (42nd Leg.) | Progressive Conservative (Ldr. 2018) | MPP for Etobicoke North | Ford ministry | [29] [30] | |
| Cancelled the provincial cap and trade system. Cut Toronto City Council from 47 to 25 wards. Buck-a-beer. [31] Reduced the small business tax rate by 8.7%. Scrapped the 2015 sex-ed curriculum in favour of the 1998–2014 curriculum. Introduced free dental care for low-income seniors. Oversaw Ontario's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Removed passenger vehicle license plate renewal fees. Raised the provincial minimum wage to $15 per hour in January 2022, $16.50 in October 2023, and $17.20 in October 2024. Closed the Ontario Science Centre. Involved with Greenbelt scandal. Leased Ontario Place to Therme Canada for redevelopment. [32] | |||||||||
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