The Attorney General of Ontario is the chief legal adviser to His Majesty the King in Right of Ontario and, by extension, the

Government of Ontario The government of Ontario (french: Gouvernement de l'Ontario) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Ontario. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown—represented in the province by the lieutenant governor ...

. The Attorney General is a senior member of the Executive Council of Ontario (the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

) and oversees the Ministry of the Attorney General – the department responsible for the oversight of the justice system in the province of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. The Attorney General is an elected

Member of Provincial Parliament Member of Provincial Parliament is the title given to provincial legislators in two legislatures: * Member of Provincial Parliament (Canada) * Member of Provincial Parliament (Western Cape) In the Western Cape province of South Africa, Member of P ...

who is appointed by the

Lieutenant Governor of Ontario The lieutenant governor of Ontario (, in French: ''Lieutenant-gouverneur'' (if male) or ''Lieutenante-gouverneure'' (if female) ''de l'Ontario'') is the viceregal representative in Ontario of the , who operates distinctly within the province bu ...

on the constitutional advice of the

Premier of Ontario The premier of Ontario (french: premier ministre de l'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 typ ...

. The goal of the Ministry of the Attorney General is to provide a fair and accessible justice system that reflects the needs of the diverse communities it serves across government and the province. The Ministry represents the largest justice system in Canada and one of the largest in North America. It strives to manage the justice system in an equitable, affordable and accessible way throughout the province. Doug Downey was appointed Attorney General of Ontario on 20 June 2019, replacing Caroline Mulroney.

Authority

The Attorney General has the authority to represent the provincial government in court personally, but this task is almost always delegated to

crown attorney Crown attorneys or crown counsel (or, in Alberta and New Brunswick, crown prosecutors) are the prosecutors in the legal system of Canada. Crown attorneys represent the Crown and act as prosecutor in proceedings under the Criminal Code and ...

s, or to crown counsel in civil cases. Both Ian Scott and Roy McMurtry, who were prominent courtroom lawyers before entering politics, acted for Ontario in constitutional appeals before the Supreme Court of Canada.1976 Reference re: Anti-Inflation Act1981 Reference re: Resolution to amend the Constitution
an
Reference re Bill 30, An Act to Amend the Education Act
/ref> Most holders of the office have been practising lawyers or had legal training.

Marion Boyd Phyllis Marion Boyd ( Watt; March 26, 1946 – October 11, 2022) was a Canadian politician in Ontario. She was a New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 1999 who represented the riding of London Centre. She ...

was the only Attorney General who was not a lawyer until Caroline Mulroney's appointment. Although Mulroney studied and practised law in the United States, she is not legally able to practise law in Canada.

Responsibilities

The Ministry of the Attorney General delivers and administers a wide range of justice services, including: #administering approximately 115 statutes; #conducting criminal proceedings throughout Ontario; #providing legal advice to, and conducting litigation on behalf of, all government ministries and many agencies, boards and tribunals; #providing advice on, and drafting, all legislation and regulations; and #coordinating and administering court services throughout Ontario. The Ontario Crown Attorney's Office, the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee, the Office of the Children's Lawyer (formerly called the Official Guardian), and the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) all fall within the Ministry's responsibilities. The Ministry also funds Legal Aid Ontario, which is administered by an independent board.

Portfolios

In 2008, Office of the Independent Police Review Director (IPRD) was established under the authority of the AG, as a civilian body with powers invested through Public Inquiries Act to investigate complaints about municipal police forces and the

Ontario Provincial Police The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is the provincial police service of Ontario, Canada. Under its provincial mandate, the OPP patrols provincial highways and waterways, protects provincial government buildings and officials, patrols unincor ...

. Following the 2013 release of former Supreme Court judge

Frank Iacobucci Frank Iacobucci (born June 29, 1937) is a former Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada from 1991 until his retirement from the bench in 2004. He was the first Italian-Canadian, allophone judge on the court. Iacobucci was also the fi ...

's report on the relationship between Aboriginal peoples and the Ontario justice system, a position of deputy attorney general with responsibility for Aboriginal issues was created.

List of attorneys-general

Attorneys-general of Upper Canada

1. John White (Frontenac County) 1791–1800
2. Robert Isaac Dey Gray 1800–1801
3. Thomas Scott 1801–1806
4. William Firth 1807–1812
5. G. D'Arcy Boulton 1814–1818
6. Sir John Robinson, 1st Baronet, of Toronto 1818–1829, acting AG 1812–1814
7.

Henry John Boulton Henry John Boulton, (1790 – June 18, 1870) was a lawyer and political figure in Upper Canada and the Province of Canada, as well as Chief Justice of Newfoundland. Boulton began his legal career under the tutelage of John Beverly Robin ...

1829–1833
8. Robert Sympson Jameson 1833–1837, last British-appointed AG
9. Christopher Alexander Hagerman 1837–1840, first Canadian-born AG of Upper Canada
10. William Henry Draper 1840–1841, last AG of Upper Canada

Attorneys-general of the Province of Canada (Canada West)

In 1841, the

Province of Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of th ...

became the District of Canada West in the

Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on t ...

11. William Henry Draper 1841–1843
12.

Robert Baldwin Robert Baldwin (May 12, 1804 – December 9, 1858) was an Upper Canadian lawyer and politician who with his political partner Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine of Lower Canada, led the first responsible government ministry in the Province of Canada. " ...

1843–1848
13. William Buell Richards 1848–1854
14.

John A. Macdonald Sir John Alexander Macdonald (January 10 or 11, 1815 – June 6, 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 to 1891. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, he had a political career that sp ...

1854–1862, 1864–1867
15.

John Sandfield Macdonald John Sandfield Macdonald, (December 12, 1812 – June 1, 1872) 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 Con ...

1862–1864 After 1867, the Attorney General position was split into federal and provincial counterparts: Attorney General of Ontario

Attorney General of Quebec The following is a list of the people who have served as head of the Ministry of Justice of Quebec, or as Attorneys-General of Quebec, Canada East and Lower Canada. Prior to 1965, the name of the position was "Attorney General for Quebec". In 196 ...

(renamed the

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

in 1965)

Attorney General of Canada The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vo ...

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

References

External links

Ministry of the Attorney General website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Attorney General Of Ontario Ontario government departments and agencies *

1841 establishments in Canada