Frost ministry
Frost ministry | |
|---|---|
 ministry of Ontario | |
 The Hon. Leslie Miscampbell Frost | |
| Date formed | May 4, 1949 |
| Date dissolved | November 8, 1961 |
| People and organisations | |
Monarch |
|
| |
Premier | Leslie Frost |
No. of ministers | 14 (at start), 22 (max.) |
Total no. of members | 39 |
Member party | Progressive Conservative |
Status in legislature | |
Opposition party | CCF (1949–51) Liberal (1951–61) |
Opposition leader |
|
| History | |
Incoming formation | 1949 PC leadership convention |
Outgoing formation | resignation |
| Elections | 1951, 1955, 1959 |
| Legislature term | Parliaments of Ontario |
| Predecessor | Drew ministry |
| Successor | Robarts ministry |
The Frost Ministry was the cabinet (formally the Executive Council of Ontario) of the Government of Ontario from May 4, 1949, to November 8, 1961. It was led by the 16th Premier of Ontario, Leslie Frost, nicknamed Old Man Ontario for his longevity in tenure.[1] The council of ministers was made up of members of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, which commanded a majority of the seats in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario throughout its duration.
The ministry was formed in 1949 following Frost's victory at the 1949 Progressive Conservative Party leadership convention. It succeeded the Drew-Henry ministry, in which Frost served as Treasurer and Minister of Mines for its entire duration. Frost succeeded cabinet colleague Thomas Kennedy who served as interim premier for the final six months of the Drew ministry.
The Progressive Conservative Party led by Frost contested the following three provincial general election, in 1951, 1955 and 1959, and won majority mandates in all three instances. The ministry governed through the latter part of the 23rd Parliament of Ontario, the entirety of the 24th and 25th Parliaments of Ontario, and the first half of the 26th Parliament of Ontario.
The Ontario ministry experienced a number of expansions during the Frost ministry, with the enactment of numerous new ministerial portfolios in response to the growth of commerce in the province.
The Frost ministry was the second of four ministries that were later collectively referred to as the Big Blue Machine, a forty-two year period of continual Progressive Conservative rule of the province. Frost resigned in 1961 and was succeeded by education minister John Robarts, who Frost promoted into cabinet less than three years prior.
Initial composition
Despite fervent speculation of a major cabinet shakeup following Frost's victory at the 1949 Progressive Conservative leadership convention, the ascension of Frost to the premiership initially brought little change to the make up of the ministry. Press reports in the days that followed the convention forecasted four to five new faces for the new ministry. Among the speculated names were M. C. Davies (MPP for Windsor—Walkerville and Speaker of the legislature at the time), Welland Gemmell (Sudbury), William Hamilton (Wellington South), William Murdoch (Essex South). Mac Phillips (Grey North), and Tommy Thomas (Elgin).[2][3] The departure of health minister Russell Kelley, who was in hospital following a heart attack, was also widely presumed.
When the new ministry members took their oath on May 4, 1949, only one new face were among them. Of the fourteen ministers who served under interim Premier Thomas Kennedy, all but one were retained, most of them continued to hold the same portfolios they held prior. Former Attorney General Leslie Blackwell, Frost's leadership rival and long time friend[a] who had rescinded his previous resignation from cabinet to enter the leadership contest, opted to retired as he had originally planned.[4][5] was the only departure from cabinet. Dana Porter, another leadership rival, replaced Blackwell as Attorney General and retained the education portfolio. Porter was succeeded as Provincial Secretary by George Welch, who would also serve as chair of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, with John Foote, a Victoria Cross decorated military chaplain, serving as vice chair.[b] Welch relinquished the planning and development portfolio (which he also inherited from Porter) to William Griesinger, previously a minister without portfolio. The only new minister, Welland Gemmell, succeeded Frost as Minister of Mines.
Of the seventeen ministerial departments, twelve retained their incumbent minister in the new ministry, including Frost himself at the treasury department. Health minister Russell Temple Kelley remained in cabinet despite reports of his ill health, his health so precarious that he remained in the hospital and missed the cabinet swearing-in. Seven departments had the same minister since the start of the Drew ministry in 1943.[c] The new Premier indicated however that Porter and Dunbar, each heading two departments, would hold their respective education and reform institution portfolios on interim basis only, as he required more time to confirm the appointments of his preferred choices for those portfolios.[6]
Designation of deputy
One significant change announced on the day the ministry entered office was that George Doucett, who was widely accepted as having been instrumental to Frost's lopsided leadership victory,[7] was designated as deputy to the premier. Doucett was widely seen as a likely leadership contender upon Premier Drew’s departure. As highways minister he had travel extensively throughout the province and had build a robust network among the party grassroots.[8] His decision not to enter the contest and to publicly back Frost not only helped Frost consolidate the key rural base, but more importantly, left Frost as the sole rival to three urbane Toronto candidates. Frost noted that Doucett would act as his "deputy both in and out of the house".[9]
For much of the duration of the Frost ministry, Doucett was consistently seated to Frost right at cabinet, in the house, and at other key functions.[10] He was occasionally referred to by the press as the Deputy Premier.[11][12] While his standing as Frost's deputy was generally accepted and unquestioned, the title Deputy Premier did not appear on any formal instrument or government document however.
| Portfolio | Minister | Held role since | First entered ministry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prime Minister President of the Council | Leslie Frost | May 4, 1949 | August 17, 1943 |
| Treasurer | August 17, 1943 | ||
| Deputy Premier [d] | George Doucett | May 4, 1949 | August 17, 1943 |
| Minister of Public Works | August 17, 1943 | ||
| Ministry of Highways | August 17, 1943 | ||
| Minister of Agriculture | Thomas Laird Kennedy | [e]August 17, 1943 | September 16, 1930 |
| Provincial Secretary and Registrar | George Arthur Welsh | May 4, 1949 | March 25, 1946 |
| Chair, Liquor Control Board of Ontario | May 4, 1949 | ||
| Attorney General | Dana Porter | May 4, 1949 | May 8, 1944 |
| Minister of Education | October 19, 1948 | ||
| Minister of Municipal Affairs | George Dunbar | August 17, 1943 | August 17, 1943 |
| Minister of Reform Institutions | April 15, 1946 | ||
| Minister of Health | Russell Temple Kelley | January 7, 1946 | January 7, 1946 |
| Minister of Public Welfare | Bill Goodfellow | January 7, 1946 | January 7, 1946 |
| Minister of Labour | Charles Daley | August 17, 1943 | August 17, 1943 |
| Minister Travel and Publicity | Louis-Pierre Cécile | October 19, 1948 | September 17,1948 |
| Minister of Planning and Development | William Griesinger | May 4, 1949 | April 15, 1946 |
| Minister of Lands and Forests | Harold Robinson Scott | November 28, 1946 | November 28, 1946 |
| Minister of Mines | Welland Gemmell | May 4, 1949 | May 4, 1949 |
| Ministers Without Portfolios | George Holmes Challies | August 17, 1943 | July 31, 1931 |
| Vice Chair, Hydro Commission | August 17, 1943 |
Expansion of Ministry
Economy and government services
The Frost ministry saw the emergence of macro economic development and industrial policy as a distinct ministerial portfolio separated from the internal financial management function of the treasury department. In 1956 the Office of the Provincial Economist in the treasury department was established as the new Department of Economics.[13] It was specifically mandated to study and advise on economic and financial policy, and fiscal relations between other levels of governments. The legislation did not provide for a separate ministerial position, but place the department in the Treasurer's charge. Furthermore, a new committee of cabinet members, known as the Treasury Board was established in 1958 to be chaired by the Treasurer.[14] It was vested with the authority to approve spending requests from departmental ministers.
In the throne speech that opened the second session of the 26th Parliament in November 1960, the government signaled an increased focus on economic and industrial growth. A key feature of its plan was the establishment of a new department of commerce and development. Noting the increasing threats from developing European and Asian industries, the new department was given a mandate to search for new industries and new ways of selling Ontario goods in other countries and to identify solution to reduce the trade imbalance with the United States.[15] A couple weeks later Premier Frost personally introduced legislations for these three departments reorganization.[16] The enactment of those legislations in January 1961 resulted in the following changes:
- The economics department was renamed the Department of Economics and Federal and Provincial Relations,[17] specifically tasked to handle the increasing load of intergovernmental functions beyond taxation issues
- The planning and development department, initially established for the purpose of postwar rehabilitation efforts, was renamed the Department of Commerce and Development with objectives to increase production, extend trade and formulate plans to create, assist. develop and maintain productive employment and to develop Ontario's human and material resources. In anticipation of its increased focus on industry and commerce, the department transferred its community planning branch to the municipal affairs department earlier in 1960. The department however retained the civil defence function, with its deputy minister Thomas Tyrrell, a brigade major with the Royal Canadian Engineers, being named head of the province Emergency Measures Organization.[18]
- The Department of the Provincial Secretary and Registrar, in existence since before Canadian Confederation and one of the five provincial executive offices specifically established by the British North America Act, 1867, for the new province,[19] was renamed Department of Provincial Secretary and Citizenship.[20] In addition to its traditional functions in registration and central government administration, the department was given the high-minded objective to "in the cause of human betterment, advance and encourage the concept and ideal of full and equal citizenship among the residents of Ontario in order that all may exercise effectively the rights, powers and privileges and fulfil the obligations, duties and liabilities of citizens"
The two new economic departmental names did not last past the year end. They were amalgamated to form the new Department of Economics and Development in the early days of the Robarts ministry[21][22]
Department of Energy Resources
The Department of Energy Resources was established in May, 1959.[23]
Department of Transport
On July 1, 1957, legislation was passed to establish the Department of Transport.[24] It assumed functions for motor vehicles (previously held by the Provincial Secretariat from 1903 to 1919, and the highways department from 1919) and other functions not directly related to constructions of transport infrastructures from the Department of Highways including driver licencing, traffic engineering and highway safety. Both departments remained in the charge of highways minister James Allen until Allen was promoted to be Treasurer the following year.
Change in composition
In the early years of the ministry, Frost approached changes to his cabinet line-up in similar ways as most of his predecessors, making small and targeted changes as events occurred. There were no discernable effort toward major shuffles at any point. It was also routine for senior ministers who relinquished their portfolios voluntarily to be retained by Frost as ministers without portfolio for extended periods of time. Wider-scope shuffles impacting multiple ministers and departments occurred only three times under Frost, twice in 1958.
- August 17, 1955 - two ministers without portfolio retired from cabinet, seven ministers changes portfolio (including Frost relinquishing the Treasury portfolio he held since 1943 to Dana Porter), two new ministers promoted (including former leadership rival/future leadership frontrunner Kelso Roberts as Attorney General)
- April 24, 1958[f] - Four days after the opposition Liberals elected a youthful MPP John Wintermeyer (who was 41) over former federal finance minister Walter Harris, Frost shuffled his cabinet and made specific effort to highlight the younger ministers being promoted. Three new ministers, all in their earlier forties or late thirties entered cabinet (including John Yaremko, who would go on to serve under three premiers), while two other incumbent ministers also in early forties were given promotion along with the new Treasurer James Allen.
- December 22, 1958 - long time deputy to Frost George Doucett resigned over a rapidly-spreading scandal in the highways department, leading a sweeping shuffle with six ministers changing portfolios. Four new ministers were promoted, including John Robarts, who would succeed Frost as premier in less than three years. When Robarts formed his new cabinet, only two incumbent ministers would be dropped, and they were both among the other three new entrants on this day.
Early additions and changes
Some of the speculations at the start of the ministry in May 1949 were not entirely unfulfilled, but merely delayed, some by over two years. Frost's preferred education minister – wildly assumed to be Speaker M. C. Davies – did not materialize however.
William Hamilton was elevated to cabinet and assumed the reform institutions portfolio from Dunbar in July. The next change took place a year later, when Dr. Mac Phillips succeeded the ailing health minister Russell Kelley in August 1950 as widely expected. Welfare minister Bill Goodfellow had been acting health minister during Kelley extended absence, was reportedly concerned about workload given the pending old-age security negotiation with Ottawa. Kelley remained in cabinet as a minister without portfolio until after his retirement from the legislature in the 1951 election, and died shortly after in February 1952. Hamilton's tenure as a portfolio minister was brief. In November 1950 he resigned in order to become the head of Paul Revere Life Insurance Co. newly established operation in Canada. He was replaced by John Foote as Minister of Reform Institutions, but was retained as a minister without portfolio until after his departure from the legislature at the 1955 election.
Frost elevated two new member into ministry following the 1951 elections, reliving two senior ministers form double-duty and finalizing moves outstanding form his ministry formation in 1949. Tommy Thomas, who has been subject of cabinet speculation for over two years, took over from Deputy Premier Doucett the public works portfolio, one of two portfolios Doucett held since 1943. William James Dunlop, a newly elected members and former University of Toronto professor, was named education minister, relieving Dana Porter from over two years of carrying the Attorney General and education portfolio, two of the most significant ministerial portfolios, concurrently.
One new minister was elevated in each of the following three years: Philip Kelly as Minister of Mines in 1952, Bill Warrender as Minister of Planning and Development in 1953, and Clare Mapledoram as Minister of Lands and Forests in 1954. Warrender's entry was triggered by the retirement from cabinet its dean the former premier Thomas Kennedy in anticipation of turning seventy-five that year. Kennedy declined to remain as a minister without portfolio but continued to served in the legislature for another seven years until his death in 1959.
In early 1958, Treasurer Dana Porter was appointed by the federal government as Chief Justice of Ontario, leading to Frost briefly resuming the portfolio he held for over a decade briefly for three months, before transferring the powerful role to James Allan in the April 1958 shuffle.
Forced departures
Two separate scandals claimed casualties from the Frost ministers in the mid 1950s.
The first scandal, involving substantial road-building frauds, implicated no ministers personally but dealt a body blow to the premier by claiming deputy premier George Doucett, an important ally who was also a key power broker within the governing party.[7] In 1953-54 the scandal broke from the highways department with reports of officials facilitating bid-rigging by construction companies, construction plan tempering, fraudulent billings, and irregular payments in various directions numbered in millions. As the scandal grew, the provincial auditor unveiled other financial misconducts such as accepting kickbacks or inappropriate gifts, while less serious, were rampant in the department due to lack of proper oversight of major procurement.[29] Frost initially tried to contain the matter by diverting opposition’s demand for a royal commission to a select committee. Nonetheless, the position of Doucett and his deputy minister became untenable as the number of dismissed officials piled up and charged for fraud and conspiracy were laid. The situation was further complicated by the animosity harboured by the party's Toronto power broker toward Doucett.[30] Despite not personally implicated, Doucett resigned in January 1955 on account of ministerial responsibility,[31] ending an eleven-year tenure overseeing some of the most rapid building out of the province highway network.
Another scandal two years later rocked the ministry much more seriously, implicating three ministers personally for profiting from inappropriate investment opportunities. The furor over the Northern Ontario natural gas pipeline stock broke in 1957 when it was disclosed that politicians at all levels were from many communities along the pipeline from western Canada had been given special opportunities to purchase stock options at bargain price in a project underwritten by the taxpayers' money and approved by the Provincial Secretary, grew by over two hundred folds in matters of months. Minister of Mines Philip Kelly initially denied any interest in the company, but as more and more information was revealed, more and more of his denial were proven untrue. He eventually admitted having made a large amount of money on speculations but insisted it was an "honest investment" as he has no say on the routing of the pipelines.[32] As Kelly faced increasing heat, it as also revealed that he also ushered in others in the legislature into the company's investor roster, including newly elected Liberal leader John Westermeyer, public works minister William Griesinger and lands and forest minister Clare Mapledoram, all having profited during the relevant period. Frost instinctively saw the perils posed for the party and the heat the issue was creating. While he insisted at the time that Kelly resigned voluntarily in preparation for a federal run, Queen's Park insiders told a version which Kelly's resignation letter was typed out for him on which the Premier demanded Kelly's signature.[33] Frost also forced the resignations of Griesinger and Mapledoram for not divesting when they were instructed to.[29] In commenting on the matter years after leaving office, Frost clearly see Kelly as the primary culprit for bringing discredit on the government, for damaging the careers of two promising ministers and an opposition leader he actually liked at a personal level, and for causing him "more anxiety and distress than any other incident in my long public life."[34]
Notable facts
Thirty-nine men served in the ministry over its twelve years tenure. Thirteen of the fourteen initial ministers served in the predecessor Drew ministry. The most senior member, Thomas Kennedy, Frost immediate predecessor as Premier, first served in cabinet in 1930, and have served under three other earlier premiers. George Holmes Challies, entered cabinet a year after Kennedy, was the only other member with cabinet experience from prior to the Drew ministry.
Aside from Frost, three ministers – Charles Daley, Bill Goodfellow and Louis-Pierre Cécile – started their cabinet career in the Drew ministry and served for the entire duration of the Frost ministry. All three went on to serve in the succeeding Robarts ministry.
Frost and Daley were among six ministers who held onto the same portfolios through Drew ministry's six-year tenure. Daley was however the only member of the Frost ministry to have helmed a department for its entire twelve-year duration. His combined eighteen-year tenure as labour minister not only made him Ontario's longest-serving labour minister, it is also put him in third place for Ontario ministerial portfolio longevity, behind only Sir Oliver Mowat's twenty-four-year tenure as Attorney General in his own ministry, and the twenty-year tenure of Mowat's public works minister Christopher Fraser..
Aside from Daley, four members of the Frost ministry hold the distinction as the longest serving minister of other portfolios:
- Health - Dr. Matthew Dymond served eleven years as health minister, the first three in the Frost ministry
- Municipal Affairs - George Dunbar helmed the Department of Municipal Affairs for twelve years to the day
- Highways - Despite having his cabinet tenure cut short by a departmental scandal, George Doucett's eleven-year tenure as highways minister remains to date the longest for the portfolio inclusive of the successor transportation portfolio[g]
- Finance - Premier Forst himself also hold one of the portfolio records. With close to six years served in the portfolio in the Drew ministry, Frost held on to the portfolio for another six years, and arranged for a small scale shuffle on the twelve-year anniversary date to hand over the crucial portfolio to Dana Porter. His service was however unexpectedly extended by a few months when Porter was summoned to the role of the province's chief justice.
Premier Frost lengthy attachment to the treasury portfolio may explain why the office complex on the south east side of Queen's Park Crescent that houses the finance ministry and the Treasury Board Secretariat, completed in 1966, and was named the Frost Building.
Coincidently, the ministry's most senior and most junior member each held the agriculture portfolio for more than thirteen years, though neither had the distinction of being the longest serving minister. When former premier Thomas Kennedy retired from cabinet in 1953 upon reaching the age of seventy-five, his thirteen years (non-consecutive) made him the second longest serving agriculture minister.[h] By the time William Atcheson Stewart enter the Frost ministry, the last person to do so, Kennedy had already pass away. Stewart bumped Kennedy from his place as the second longest serving agriculture minister in 1975.
Nineteen members of the Frost ministry would continue to serve in the successor Robarts ministry, and three — John Yaremko, Allan Grossman and William Atcheson Stewart — would go on to serve in the Davis ministry after that. All three opted to retired at the 1975 election. Accordingly, no member of the Frost ministry had to endure time in opposition after their ministerial service.
List of ministers
| Involuntary, unplanned departure (e.g. death, resignation due to poor health, resignation requested by premier) Retained portfolio from Drew-Kennedy ministry/at the start of Robarts ministry Continued service from Drew-Kennedy ministry/in the Robarts ministry in different portfolio Did not continue in the Robarts ministry | |||
Drew-Kennedy ministry Frost ministry Robarts ministry
|
List of ministers ordered by seniority
| Minister | Ministerial service | Parliamentary service | Note | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | End | Timespan | 1st | Electoral district | Region | |||||||
| Leslie Frost | August 17, 1943 | Nov 8, 1961 |
| 1937 | Victoria | Central East | ||||||
| Thomas Kennedy | Sep 16, 1930 August 17, 1943 | Jan 20, 1953 |
| 1919 | Peel | Central | [i] | |||||
| George Challies | July 31, 1931 August 17, 1943 | August 17, 1955 |
| 1929 | Grenville—Dundas | East | [j] | |||||
| George Doucett | August 17, 1943 | January 5, 1955 |
| 1937 | Lanark | East | ||||||
| George Dunbar | August 17, 1943 | Dec 22, 1958 |
| 1937 | Ottawa South | East | ||||||
| Dana Porter | August 17, 1943 | January 30, 1958 |
| 1943 | St. George | Toronto | ||||||
| Charles Daley | August 17, 1943 | October 25, 1962 |
| 1943 | Lincoln | Central West | ||||||
| Bill Goodfellow | January 7, 1946 | October 25, 1962 |
| 1943 | Northumberland | Central East | ||||||
| Russell Temple Kelley | January 7, 1946 | January 18, 1952 |
| 1945 | Hamilton—Wentworth | Central West | ||||||
| George Arthur Welsh | March 25, 1946 | Jan 20, 1955 |
| 1945 | Muskoka–Ontario | Central | ||||||
| William Griesinger | April 15, 1946 | May 6, 1958 |
| 1945 | Windsor—Sandwich | Southwest | [k] | |||||
| Harold Scott | Nov 28, 1946 | April 28, 1958 |
| 1943 | Peterborough | Central East | ||||||
| Louis-Pierre Cécile | Sep 17, 1948 | Nov 24, 1966 |
| 1948 | Prescott | East | ||||||
| Welland Gemmell | May 4, 1949 | June 18, 1954 |
| 1948 | Sudbury | North | [l] | |||||
| William Ernest Hamilton | July 15, 1949 | August 17, 1955 |
| 1945 | Wellington South | Central West | ||||||
| Mac Phillips | August 8, 1950 | May 15, 1960 |
| 1945 | Gray North | Southwest | ||||||
| John Weir Foote | Nov 16, 1950 | July 18, 1957 |
| 1948 | Durham | Central | ||||||
| Tommy Thomas | October 2, 1951 | August 1, 1956 |
| 1945 | Elgin | Southwest | ||||||
| William James Dunlop | October 2, 1951 | Nov 21, 1960 |
| 1951 | Eglinton | Toronto | ||||||
| Philip Kelly | June 3, 1952 | July 18, 1957 |
| 1951 | Cochrane North | North | [k] | |||||
| Bill Warrender | Jan 20, 1953 | October 25, 1962 |
| 1951 | Hamilton Centre | Central West | ||||||
| Clare Mapledoram | July 7, 1954 | July 4, 1958 |
| 1951 | Fort William | North | [k] | |||||
| James Allan | January 5, 1955 | Jan 31, 1968 |
| 1951 | Haldimand—Norfolk | Central West | ||||||
| William McAdam Nickle | Jan 20, 1955 | October 25, 1962 |
| 1951 | Kingston | East | ||||||
| Bryan Cathcart | August 17, 1955 | August 14, 1963 |
| 1945 | Lambton West | Southwest | ||||||
| Kelso Roberts | August 17, 1955 | Nov 24, 1966 |
| 1943 | SI. Patrick | Toronto | ||||||
| Ray Connell | Nov 1, 1956 | June 5, 1969 |
| 1951 | Hamilton—Wentworth | Central West | ||||||
| Matthew Dymond | July 18, 1957 | August 13, 1969 |
| 1955 | Ontario | Central East | ||||||
| Wilf Spooner | July 18, 1957 | Nov 23, 1967 |
| 1955 | Cochrane South | North | ||||||
| Robert Macaulay | April 28, 1958 | October 16, 1963 |
| 1951 | Riverdale | Toronto | ||||||
| John Yaremko | April 28, 1958 | Feb 26, 1974 |
| 1951 | Bellwoods | Toronto | ||||||
| Frederick Cass | April 28, 1958 | March 23, 1964 |
| 1955 | Grenville—Dundas | East | ||||||
| John Robarts | Dec 22, 1958 | March 1, 1971 |
| 1951 | London North | Southwest | ||||||
| John Henry Haines Root | Dec 22, 1958 | Nov 8, 1961 |
| 1951 | Wellington-Dulferin | Central West | ||||||
| George Wardrope | Dec 22, 1958 | Nov 23, 1967 |
| 1951 | Port Arthur | North | ||||||
| James Anthony Maloney | Dec 22, 1958 | Nov 8, 1961 |
| 1956 | Renfrew South | East | ||||||
| Allan Grossman | Nov 21, 1960 | October 7, 1975 |
| 1955 | St. Andrew | Toronto | ||||||
| Leslie Rowntree | Nov 21, 1960 | February 5, 1970 |
| 1956 | York West | Toronto[m] | ||||||
| William Atcheson Stewart | Nov 21, 1960 | October 7, 1975 |
| 1957 | Middlesex North | Southwest | ||||||
List of ministers by portfolio
| Portfolio | Minister | Tenure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start | End | ||
| Central administration portfolios | |||
| Prime Minister[n] President of the Council |
Leslie Frost | May 4, 1949 | November 8, 1961 |
| Deputy Premier[d] | George Doucett | May 4, 1949 | January 5, 1955 |
| Treasurer[o] (from March 28, 1956)[13] - Treasurer and (from January 27, 1961) - Treasurer and | Leslie Frost | [p] May 4, 1949 | August 17, 1955 |
| Dana Porter | August 17, 1955 | January 30, 1958 | |
| Leslie Frost | February 3, 1958 | April 28, 1958 | |
| James Allan | April 28, 1958 | November 8, 1961 | |
| Provincial Secretary and Registrar (from January 27, 1961)[q] | George Arthur Welsh | May 4, 1949 | January 20, 1955 |
| William McAdam Nickle | January 20, 1955 | August 17, 1955 | |
| George Dunbar | August 17, 1955 | December 22, 1958 | |
| Mac Phillips | December 22, 1958 | May 26, 1960 | |
| John Yaremko | May 26, 1960 | November 8, 1961 | |
| Minister of Municipal Affairs | George Dunbar | [p] May 4, 1949 | August 17, 1955 |
| Bill Goodfellow | August 17, 1955 | November 1, 1956 | |
| Bill Warrender | November 1, 1956 | November 8, 1961 | |
| Law and order portfolios | |||
| Attorney General | Dana Porter | May 4, 1949 | August 17, 1955 |
| Kelso Roberts | August 17, 1955 | November 8, 1961 | |
| Minister of Reform Institutions | George Dunbar | [p] May 4, 1949 | July 15, 1949 |
| William Ernest Hamilton | July 15, 1949 | November 16, 1950 | |
| John Weir Foote | November 16, 1950 | July 18, 1957 | |
| Matthew Dymond | July 18, 1957 | April 28, 1958 | |
| Ray Connell | April 28, 1958 | December 22, 1958 | |
| George Wardrope | December 22, 1958 | November 8, 1961 | |
| Public assets portfolios | |||
| Minister of Public Works | George Doucett | [p] May 4, 1949 | October 2, 1951 |
| Tommy Thomas | October 2, 1951 | January 20, 1953 | |
| William Griesinger | January 20, 1953 | [k]May 6, 1958 | |
| James Allan | May 14, 1958 | December 22, 1958 | |
| Ray Connell | December 22, 1958 | November 8, 1961 | |
| Ministry of Highways | George Doucett | [p] May 4, 1949 | January 5, 1955 |
| James Allan | January 5, 1955 | April 28, 1958 | |
| Fred Cass | April 28, 1958 | November 8, 1961 | |
| Minister of Transport[r] | James Allan | June 26, 1957 | April 28, 1958 |
| Matthew Dymond | April 28, 1958 | December 22, 1958 | |
| John Yaremko | December 22, 1958 | November 21, 1960 | |
| Leslie Rowntree | November 21, 1960 | November 8, 1961 | |
| Social & human services portfolios | |||
| Minister of Education | Dana Porter | [s] May 4, 1949 | October 2, 1951 |
| William James Dunlop | October 2, 1951 | December 17, 1959 | |
| John Robarts | December 17, 1959 | November 8, 1961 | |
| Minister of Health | Russell Temple Kelley | [t] May 4, 1949 | August 8, 1950 |
| Mac Phillips | August 8, 1950 | December 22, 1958 | |
| Matthew Dymond | December 22, 1958 | November 8, 1961 | |
| Minister of Public Welfare | Bill Goodfellow | [t] May 4, 1949 | August 17, 1955 |
| Louis-Pierre Cécile | August 17, 1955 | November 8, 1961 | |
| Minister of Labour | Charles Daley | [p] May 4, 1949 | November 8, 1961 |
| Natural resources portfolios | |||
| Minister of Lands and Forests | Harold Robinson Scott | [t]May 4, 1949 | June 3, 1952 |
| Welland Gemmell | June 3, 1952 | [l]June 18, 1954 | |
| Clare Mapledoram | July 7, 1954 | July 4, 1958 | |
| Wilf Spooner | July 4, 1958 | November 8, 1961 | |
| Minister of Mines | Welland Gemmell | May 4, 1949 | June 3, 1952 |
| Philip Kelly | June 3, 1952 | July 18, 1957 | |
| Wilf Spooner | July 18, 1957 | December 22, 1958 | |
| James Anthony Maloney | December 22, 1958 | November 8, 1961 | |
| Ministers Without Portfolios (with desgination as a Hydro Commissioner) |
George Holmes Challies | May 4, 1949 | August 17, 1955 |
| Bill Warrender | August 17, 1955 | November 1, 1956 | |
| Ray Connell | November 1, 1956 | April 28, 1958 | |
| Robert Macaulay | May 26, 1958 | May 5, 1959 | |
| Minister of Energy Resources[u] | May 5, 1959 | November 8, 1961 | |
| Economic portfolios | |||
| Minister of Agriculture | Thomas Laird Kennedy | [e] May 4, 1949 | January 20, 1953 |
| Tommy Thomas | January 20, 1953 | August 1, 1956 | |
| Bill Goodfellow | August 1, 1956 | November 8, 1961 | |
| Minister Travel and Publicity | Louis-Pierre Cécile | [s] May 4, 1949 | August 17, 1955 |
| Bryan Lewis Cathcart | August 17, 1955 | November 8, 1961 | |
| Minister of Planning and Development
(from January 27, 1961)[35] |
William Griesinger | May 4, 1949 | January 20, 1953 |
| Bill Warrender | January 20, 1953 | August 17, 1955 | |
| William McAdam Nickle | August 17, 1955 | November 8, 1961 | |
| Ministers without portfolios | |||
| Ministers Without Portfolios | Russell Temple Kelley | August 8, 1950 | January 18, 1952 |
| William Ernest Hamilton | November 16, 1950 | August 17, 1955 | |
| Harold Scott | June 3, 1952 | April 28, 1958 | |
| John Yaremko | April 28, 1958 | December 22, 1958 | |
| John Henry Haines Root | December 22, 1958 | November 8, 1961 | |
| John Robarts | December 22, 1958 | December 17, 1959 | |
| William James Dunlop | December 17, 1959 | November 21, 1960 | |
| Allan Grossman | November 21, 1960 | November 8, 1961 | |
| William Atcheson Stewart | November 21, 1960 | November 8, 1961 | |
Notes
- ↑ Despite Blackwell's profile as a prominent lawyer from Toronto, he is also from Lindsay.
- ↑ Foote would enter the ministry a year and a half later
- ↑ Frost at the treasury department, Thomas Kennedy at Department of Agriculture, George Dunbar at Department of Municipal Affairs and Department of Reform Institutions, George Doucett at Department of Public works and Department of Highways, and Charles Daley at Department of Labour
- 1 2 designation, not a portfolio; designation announced publicly, but the title was never formally conferred
- 1 2 Retained portfolio held Drew ministry from 1943; previously held role in 1930–34
- ↑ The Legislative Assembly website erroneously recorded the date as April 28, 1958, likely an error reproduced from the authoratative Legislators and Legislatures of Ontario[25] which contains the same error. News outlet all reported the shuffled on April 26, 1958.[26][27][28]
- ↑ It would however not be the longest tenure among the ministers who helmed infrastructure and public works portfolio. Christopher Fraser served as public works minister for twenty years between 1874 and 1894.
- ↑ Second to John Dryden who held the portofolio in the Mowat, Hardy, and Ross ministries.
- ↑ Former premier; member of Ferguson, Henry, and Drew ministries
- ↑ Member of Henry & Drew ministries
- 1 2 3 4 Resignation - one of three ministry members implicated in the Northern Ontario Natural Gas stock option scandal.[29]
- 1 2 Died in office
- ↑ Metro Toronto
- ↑ Ontario Premier was styled as "Prime Minister of Ontario" between 1907 and 1972
- ↑ while not yet a ministerial portfolio, the Treasury Board was instituted in March 1958 as a committee of ministers, with the Treasurer as chair ex officio.[14]
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Retained portfolio held in Drew Ministry since 1943
- ↑ Department renamed by legislaation enacted on January 27, 1961[20]
- ↑ Department established on June 26, 1957 by legislation[24]>
- 1 2 Retained portfolio held in Drew Ministry since 1948
- 1 2 3 Retained portfolio held in Drew Ministry since 1946
- ↑ Department established on May 5, 1959 by legislation[23]
References
- Froman, Debra, ed. (1984). "The Ministry of the Hon. Leslie Miscampbell Frost: May 4, 1949 - Nov. 8, 1961, Progressive Conservative". Legislators and Legislatures of Ontario: A Reference Guide. Vol. 1. Legislative Assembly of Ontario. p. xli-xlii.
- Graham, Roger (1990). Old Man Ontario: Leslie M. Frost. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-1487597771.
- Service records of individual members of ministry, see "Members, Legislative Assembly of Ontario". Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
Legislations establishing or altering departments
- British North America Act, 1867. UK General Public Acts. Vol. 30 & 31 Victoria (U.K.). 1867. c.3, s. 63.
- The Department of Economics Act, 1956. Statutes of the Province of Ontario. Vol. 4/5 Elizabeth II. 1956. c.16.
- The Department of Transport Act, 1957. Statutes of the Province of Ontario. Vol. 5/6 Eliz. II. 1957. c.26.
- The Financial Administration Amendment Act, 1958. Statutes of the Province of Ontario. Vol. 6/7 Elizabeth II. 1958. c.29.
- The Department of Energy Resources Act. Statutes of the Province of Ontario. Vol. 7/8 Elizabeth II. 1959. c.26.
- The Department of Economics Amendment Act, 1960-61. Statutes of the Province of Ontario. Vol. 9/10 Elizabeth II. 1960. c.19.
- The Department of Commerce and Development Act, 1960-61. Statutes of the Province of Ontario. Vol. 9/10 Elizabeth II. 1960. c.18.
- The Department of the Provincial Secretary and Citizenship Act, 1960-61. Statutes of the Province of Ontario. Vol. 9/10 Elizabeth II. 1960. c.20.
- The Department of Economics and Development Act, 1961-62. Statutes of the Province of Ontario. Vol. 10/11 Elizabeth II. 1961. c.30.
- ↑ 'Ian Urquhart (September 12, 2007). "McGuinty has spring in his step". The Toronto Star. Retrieved October 3, 2007.
- ↑ Greenway, Roy (April 28, 1949). "FOUR NEW FACES EXPECTED IN LESLIE FROST'S CABINET". Toronto Daily Star. p. 1.
- ↑ Sheridan, Richard (May 4, 1949). "3 New Faces Seen Coming To Cabinet". The Globe and Mail. p. 1.
- ↑ "Blackwell Turned Down Offer Of Any Post in Frost Cabinet". The Globe and Mail. May 5, 1949. p. 3.
- ↑ "Frost Cabinet Surprises Seen; Know Wednesday". The Globe and Mail. May 3, 1949. p. 1.
- ↑ "Frost Cabinet Sworn In, Few Changes; Gemmell Mines Chief, Blackwell Out". The Globe and Mail. May 5, 1949. p. 1.
- 1 2 Graham 1990, pp. 151, 164.
- ↑ O'Hearn, Don (August 15, 1968). "1949 power struggle won by Leslie Frost". The Windsor Star. p. 10.
- ↑ "Frost Cabinet Sworn In, Few Changes; Gemmell Mines Chief, Blackwell Out". Globe and Mail. May 5, 1949. p. 1.
- ↑ Graham 1990, p. 294.
- ↑ Nielsen, Robert (April 21, 1951). "Bachelor Spends $100,000,000 on Roads". Toronto Daily Star. p. 3.
- ↑ Cross, Austin F. (September 1, 1953). "Travellers Through Our Weary Dust Bowls". Ottawa Citizen. p. 2.
- 1 2 Ontario 1956.
- 1 2 Ontario 1958.
- ↑ Kinmond, William (November 23, 1960). "Crack World Markets - Frost". Toronto Daily Star. p. 51.
- ↑ "3 Departments to Be Reorganized". The Globe and Mail. December 14, 1960. p. 5.
- 1 2 Ontario 1960.
- ↑ "New Head of CD has Own Shelter". Toronto Daily Star. February 7, 1961. p. 23.
- ↑ UK 1867.
- 1 2 Ontario & 1960PS.
- ↑ Ontario Ministry of Government Services (1975). PUBLICATIONS OF THE GOVERNMENT OF ONTARIO 1956-1971. Government of Ontario. p. 84.
- ↑ Ontario 1962.
- 1 2 Ontario 1959.
- 1 2 Ontario 1957.
- ↑ Froman 1984.
- ↑ Kinmond, William (April 25, 1958). "Allan Moves Up: Frost Stresses Youth in Cabinet". Globe and Mail. p. 1.
- ↑ "James Allan Becomes Provincial Treasurer as Premier Frost Shuffles Cabinet". Toronto Daily Star. April 25, 1958. p. 26.
- ↑ "3 Back Benchers Promoted Ministers In Ontario's Major Cabinet Shakeup". Ottawa Citizen. April 25, 1958. p. 45.
- 1 2 3 "ONTARIO STIRRED BY CRIME INQUIRY; Officials Reported to Have Dealt With Gamblers Gamblers Unharassed Conservatives Keep Power". The New York Times. April 8, 1962. p. 8.
- ↑ Graham 1990, p. 162-171.
- ↑ "Doucett's Resignation Said Based Entirely On Highways Scandal". The Globe and Mail. January 5, 1955. p. 1.
- ↑ Kirby, Blain (May 3, 1958). "2 Frost Ministers Got Stock; MADE BIG PROFITS ON PIPELINE--KELLY; Ex-Mines Minister 10 Kin Had Stock Councils Benefit". Toronto Daily Star. p. 1.
- ↑ Graham 1990, p. 342.
- ↑ Graham 1990, p. 350.
- ↑ Ontario & 1960EcDev.