The Provincial Secretary and Registrar of Ontario was a senior position in the

provincial cabinet Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...

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 ...

from before

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Dominion ...

until the 1960s. The Provincial Secretary and Registrar was originally the second highest position in the provincial cabinet, equivalent to the position of

Deputy Premier A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

. The Provincial Secretary was the equivalent of the former

Canadian Cabinet The Cabinet of Canada (french: Cabinet du Canada) is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada. Chaired by the prime minister, the ...

position of

Secretary of State for Canada The Secretary of State for Canada, established in 1867 with a corresponding department, was a Canadian Cabinet position that served as the official channel of communication between the Dominion of Canada and the Imperial government in London. Scot ...

. Like its federal counterpart it included an eclectic variety of responsibilities that were not assigned to other ministers, most of which would eventually evolve into portfolios of their own. The provincial secretary was also responsible for official communications between the provincial government and the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of c ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

as well as with other provincial and colonial governments (and after 1867 the federal government). As well, the position also included various duties related to ceremonial occasions, visits by dignitaries, protocol, relations between the government and the office of lieutenant governor and commemorative events particularly in relation to the

monarchy A monarchy is a government#Forms, form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The legitimacy (political)#monarchy, political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restric ...

. Generally, the Provincial Secretary acted as a province's Registrar-General and was responsible for formal documents and records such as licences, birth and death certificates, land registries and surveys, business registrations and writs. As well, the position was generally responsible for the administration of the civil service and of elections. Provincial secretaries were usually the most senior member of the provincial cabinet outside of the Premier, and the office holder was often designated as Acting Premier when the Premier was out of province, ill or otherwise unavailable. The last individual to hold the position of Provincial Secretary and Registrar (renamed Provincial Secretary and Minister of Citizenship in 1961) was

John Yaremko John Yaremko, (August 10, 1918 – August 7, 2010) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1951 until 1975 who represente ...

who left office in 1975. In 1972 the Progressive Conservative government of

Bill Davis William Grenville Davis, (July 30, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was a Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Ontario from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the member of provincial Parliament for Peel in the 1959 provincia ...

adopted the provincial secretary title for a non-departmental cabinet portfolio in which the occupant either having responsibility spreading over several ministries, assisting a senior minister in an area or as a secondary portfolio for a senior minister giving him a broader responsibility or mandate area. The three positions created were Provincial Secretary for Social Development, Provincial Secretary for Justice and Provincial Secretary for Resource Development. These positions were unrelated to the original Provincial Secretary position except for the common name. The positions were retained by Davis' successor,

Frank Miller Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book writer, penciller and inker, novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on ''Daredevil'' and subsequen ...

, in 1985 but were abolished when the Progressive Conservatives lost power to

David Peterson David Robert Peterson (born December 28, 1943) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 20th premier of Ontario from 1985 to 1990. He was the first Liberal officeholder in 42 years, ending the so-called Tory dynasty. Backgr ...

's Liberals in 1985.

Pre-Confederation Provincial Secretary

Prior to Confederation and the creation of the office of Premier, the Provincial Secretary was the most important and powerful figure in provincial politics. The title holder was appointed by the Lieutenant Governor and many sat as members of the Legislative Council.

Upper Canada

* William Jarvis (1791-1817)

Family Compact The Family Compact was a small closed group of men who exercised most of the political, economic and judicial power in Upper Canada (today’s Ontario) from the 1810s to the 1840s. It was the Upper Canadian equivalent of the Château Clique in ...

(Conservative) *

Sir John Robinson, 1st Baronet, of Toronto Sir John Beverley Robinson, 1st Baronet, (26 July 1791 – 31 January 1863) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Upper Canada. He was considered the leader of the Family Compact, a group of families which effectively controlled the ea ...

(1817-1829)

(Conservative) *

Robert Baldwin Sullivan Robert Baldwin Sullivan, (May 24, 1802 – April 14, 1853), was an Irish-Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician who became the second Mayor of Toronto, Upper Canada. Career In 1835, he was elected to Toronto City Council of the year-old city ...

(1838-1840)

United Provinces of Canada

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

Dominick Daly Sir Dominick Daly (11 August 1798 – 19 February 1868) was the Governor of Prince Edward Island from 11 July 1854 to 25 May 1859 and later Governor of South Australia from 4 March 1862 until his death on 19 February 1868. He was born in ...

(1844-1848) - former Provincial Secretary of Lower Canada (1827-1840), Canada East (1843-1844) *

Pierre Joseph Olivier Chauveau Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau (May 30, 1820 – April 4, 1890) was a Canadian lawyer and politician. Chauveau was the first premier of Quebec, following the establishment of Canada in 1867. Appointed to the office in 1867 as the leader of the ...

(1853-1854) Conservative *

Sir George-Étienne Cartier ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

(1855-1857) Conservative

Provincial Secretary and Registrar

Matthew Crooks Cameron Sir Matthew Crooks Cameron, (2 October 1822 – 25 June 1887) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1867 to 1878. He represented the riding of Toronto East. He served i ...

(1867-1871) Conservative * Stephen Richards (1871) Conservative * Alexander Mackenzie (1871) Liberal * Peter Gow (1871-1872) Liberal *

Timothy Pardee Timothy Blair Pardee, (December 11, 1830 – July 21, 1889) was an Ontario lawyer and political figure. He represented the riding of Lambton in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1867 to 1874 and Lambton West from 1875 to 1889 as a Lib ...

(1872-1873) Liberal *

Christopher Fraser Christopher James Fraser, OBE (born 25 October 1962) is a former British Conservative Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Dorset and North Poole from the 1997 general election to 2001 and South West Norfolk fro ...

(1873) Liberal * Samuel Wood (1875-1877) Liberal * Arthur S. Hardy (1877-1889) Liberal * John Gibson (1889-1896) Liberal * William Balfour (1896) Liberal *

Elihu Davis Elihu James Davis (December 2, 1851 – June 18, 1936) was an Ontario businessman and political figure. He represented York North in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Liberal member from 1888 to 1904.https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/ ...

(1896-1899) Liberal * James Stratton (1899-1904) Liberal *

George Graham George Graham (born 30 November 1944), nicknamed "Stroller", is a Scottish former Association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. In his successful playing career, he made 455 appearances in England's Football ...

(1904-1905) Liberal *

William Hanna William Denby Hanna (July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001) was an American animator and cartoonist who was the creator of ''Tom and Jerry'' as well as the voice actor for the two title characters. Alongside Joseph Barbera, he also founded the anim ...

(1905-1916) Conservative * William McPherson (1916-1919) Conservative *

Harry Nixon Harry Corwin Nixon (April 1, 1891 – October 22, 1961) was a Canadian politician and briefly the 13th premier of Ontario in 1943. He is both the longest-serving member in the history of the Ontario legislature and the shortest-serving premier of ...

(1919-1923) United Farmers of Ontario *

Lincoln Goldie Lincoln Goldie (November 11, 1864 – September 19, 1931) was an industrialist and politician in Ontario, Canada. He represented Wellington South in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1923 to 1931 as a Conservative member. He served ...

(1923-1930) Conservative *

Leopold Macaulay Leopold Macaulay (November 25, 1887 – December 24, 1979) was a Canadian politician and lawyer, born in Peterborough, Ontario. Macaulay was a Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. He was first elected as Member of th ...

(1930-1931) Conservative *

George Challies George Holmes Challies (August 26, 1884 – March 15, 1976) was an Ontario merchant and political figure. He represented Dundas and then Grenville—Dundas in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Conservative and then Progressive Cons ...

(1931-1934) Conservative *

(1934-1942) Liberal *

Norman Hipel Norman Otto Hipel (March 21, 1890 – February 16, 1953) was a Canadians, Canadian politician, noted for his service as Ministry of Labour (Ontario), Minister of Labour for Ontario in the cabinet of Mitchell Hepburn. He served as MLA for Wate ...

(1942-1943) Liberal *

(1943) ''as Premier'' Liberal * George Dunbar (1943-1946) Progressive Conservative *

Roland Michener Daniel Roland Michener (April 19, 1900 – August 6, 1991) was a Canadian lawyer, politician, and diplomat who served as Governor General of Canada, the 20th since Canadian Confederation. Michener was born and educated in Alberta. In 1917 he se ...

(1946-1948) Progressive Conservative *

Dana Porter Dana Harris Porter (January 14, 1901 – May 13, 1967) was a Canadian politician and jurist. Porter was a member of the Ontario Legislature from 1943 to 1958 serving as a representative for Toronto St. George and was appointed Chief Justice ...

(1948-1949) Progressive Conservative * George Welsh (1949-1955) Progressive Conservative * William Nickle (1955) Progressive Conservative * George Dunbar (1955-1958) Progressive Conservative * Mac Phillips (1958-1960) Progressive Conservative *

(1960-1961) Progressive Conservative The Registrar General of Ontario eventually transferred to the Ministry of Government Services in 1972.

Provincial Secretary and Minister of Citizenship

(1961-1966) Progressive Conservative * Robert Welch (1966-1971) Progressive Conservative *

(1971-1972) Progressive Conservative After 1972 the responsibility of Citizenship affairs was transferred to the Ministry of Citizenship and Culture when it was formed in 1982.

Provincial Secretaries for Social Development

* Robert Welch (1972-1974) *

Margaret Birch Margaret Birch (13 June 1921 — 29 October 2020) was a Canadian politician in Ontario. She was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1971 to 1985 who represented the east Toronto riding of Scarborough ...

(1974-1983) *

Bruce McCaffrey Bruce Robert McCaffrey (September 23, 1938 – August 9, 2002) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1977 to 1987 as a Progressive Conservative, and was a cabinet minister in the governme ...

(while Minister of Community and Social Services) (1983) * Gordon Dean (1983-1985) * Larry Grossman (1985)

Provincial Secretaries for Justice

* Allan Lawrence (1972) * George Kerr (1972-1974) * Robert Welch (while

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

) (1974-1975) * John Clement (while Attorney-General and Solicitor General) (1975) * John MacBeth (1975-1978) *George Kerr (while Solicitor-General) (1978) * Gordon Walker (1979-1982) *

Norm Sterling Norman William "Norm" Sterling (born February 19, 1942) is a Canadian politician, who served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1977 to 2011. Background Sterling attended Carleton University and the University of Ottawa, and worked as ...

(1982-1983) * Reuben Baetz (1985)

Provincial Secretaries for Resource Development

* Albert Lawrence (1972-1974) *

Allan Grossman Allan Grossman (December 25, 1910 – September 1, 1991) was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Canada, for 20 years, a provincial cabinet minister and the father of the late former leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative ...

(1974-1975) * Donald Irvine (1975-1977) * René Brunelle (1977-1981) *

Russ Ramsay Russell Harold Ramsay (August 5, 1928 — February 9, 2003) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1978 to 1985, and was a cabinet minister in the government of William Davis. Ramsay was a mem ...

(1981-1982) *

Lorne Henderson Lorne Henderson (October 31, 1920 – February 7, 2002) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1963 to 1985, and was a cabinet minister in the government of William Davis. Henderson was a mem ...

(1982-1983) *

(1983-1985) *

Ernie Eves Ernest Larry Eves (born June 17, 1946) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 23rd premier of Ontario from 2002 to 2003. A Progressive Conservative, he took over the premiership upon Mike Harris's resignation as party leade ...

(1985)