The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development is responsible for labour issues in the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development and its agencies are responsible for employment equity and rights,

occupational health and safety Occupational safety and health (OSH) or occupational health and safety (OHS) is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at work (i.e., while performing duties required by one's occupation). OSH is re ...

, labour relations, and supporting apprenticeships, the skilled trades, and industry training. The ministry's three program responsibilities are delivered from a head office in Toronto and 19 offices organized around four regions, centred in Ottawa, Hamilton, Sudbury and Toronto. As well, the ministry oversees the work of eight specialized agencies. The current minister of labour, immigration, training and skills development is David Piccini.

History

The Province entered the field in 1882 with the creation of the Bureau of Industries, which was attached to the Department of the Commissioner of Agriculture. In 1900, it was transferred to the Department of the Commissioner of Public Works and renamed as the Bureau of Labour, which subsequently became the Trades and Labour Branch in 1916. In 1919, the Conservative government of

William Howard Hearst Sir William Howard Hearst, (February 15, 1864 – September 29, 1941) was the seventh premier of Ontario from 1914 to 1919. Hearst was born in Bruce County, Canada West. He practiced law in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario before being voted to p ...

secured passage of an Act to raise the Branch into a Cabinet-level department to be known as the Department of Labour. Finlay MacDiarmid, the Minister of Public Works, was appointed the first Minister of Labour as well, but the first full-time minister was

Walter Rollo Walter Ritchie Rollo (November 25, 1875 – March 13, 1957) was a Canadian trade unionist and politician in the early 20th century, and was a cabinet Minister in the United Farmers of Ontario - Labour coalition government from 1919 to 1923. Ea ...

of the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse work ...

in the government of E.C. Drury that took office after the Conservative defeat in the 1919 general election. In 1972, as part of a general reorganization of departments initiated by the 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. Behind Oliver Mowat, Davis was the List of premiers of Ontario by time in office, second-longes ...

, the department was renamed the Ministry of Labour. In 2019, the Ministry of Labour changed its name to Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development to reflect its expanding mandate of training, apprenticeships and Employment Ontario. Following the 2022 provincial election, the ministry was renamed to Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.

History

List of ministers

References

External links