Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade

Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade
Ministère du Développement économique, de la Création d’emplois et du Commerce (French)
Arms of the Government of Ontario
Ministry overview
Formed1944
JurisdictionGovernment of Ontario
Headquarters
Minister responsible
  • Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade
Websiteontario.ca/page/ministry-economic-development-job-creation-trade

The Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade (formally known as Ministry of Economic Development and Growth) in the Canadian province of Ontario is responsible for programs to attract and retain business and economic development in the province. This is pursued through research and development funding, business advisory services, career exploration opportunities and business startup programs for youth, skills development and marketing Ontario to potential international business investors.

It was previously responsible for the Liquor Control Board of Ontario and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, though this responsibility has been shifted to the Ministry of Government Services.

History

Responsibilities for industries and economic development in the Ontario government shifted over time as the province's economy evolved.

Since farming was the primary means of economic production in the 1800s, responsibility for economic development and planning, as far as a going concern of the government, rest with the agriculture department. Prior to Canadian confederation, the Bureau of Agriculture of the Province of Canada was responsible for collecting facts and statistics relating to the agricultural, mechanical and manufacturing interests. Soon after the confederation in 1867, the Act for the Encouragement of Agriculture, Horticulture, Arts, and Manufactures was enacted, which established the Bureau of Agriculture and Arts within the Department of Agriculture and Public Works.[1] "Arts", at the time, referred to the practical application of an industrial, manufacturing, or scientific pursuit, rather than artistic pursuit or fine art. The annual report of the bureau, tabled by its departmental minister the Commissioner of Agriculture and Public Works, reported on policy issues such as tariff, technology innovation, industrial development, issues that would in modern time be in the purview of the economic development ministry.[2]

In 1882, the Bureau of Industries assumed responsibility for sectors other than farming. Although the Bureau was under the general direction of the Commissioner of Agriculture (or the Minister of Agriculture after 1888), the day to day operations were carried out by a small staff under the direction of the Secretary of the Bureau of Industries. From 1880 on however, the focus of that bureau was agricultural in nature. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the responsibilities for various manufacturing industrial matters were shared at various times with the Department of the Provincial Secretary, Department of Education, and the Bureau of Labour among others.

The Department of Planning and Development was established in 1944.[3] Initially, its mandate was focused in postwar rehabilitation efforts. Over time, the department was mandated to work with agricultural, industrial, labour, mining, trade and other associations and organisations and with public and private sector enterprises in order to create and maintain productive employment and to develop the human and material resources of the province. In addition to trade and industry, the department at various times also had responsibilities over immigration, community planning, conservation, civil defence/emergency management.

Given the rapid post war economic expansion, economic development and planning becoming a primary concern of the government. In 1956, a new Department of Economics reporting to the Treasurer (finance minister) was established and specifically mandated to study and advise on economic and financial policy.[4] In 1961 the planning and development was briefly renamed the Department of Commerce and Development.[5] In December 1961, the two departments merged and was renamed the Department of Economics and Development.[6]

In 1968, the department was renamed the Department of Trade and Development. In April 1972, the department merged with the Department of Tourism and Information to form the Ministry of Industry and Tourism.[7]

Frequent rebranding

A standalone economic portfolio was recreated in 1982, named Ministry of Industry and Trade.[8] Since then, the ministry has been the target for frequent superficial, transient name changes by government of all three stripes. Since its separation from the tourism ministry, the economic ministry's went through fourteen instances of name changes, by far the most instances of name change experienced by any ministry within the Ontario government, and only four of those instances entailed actual substantive realignment of portfolio responsibilities with other ministries.[a] The government of the day routinely modify the ministry name sometimes with buzzword or gimmicky phrasing to draw attention to the government's shifting policy priorities or specific agenda. Turf wars between ministers also caused some of the name changes. The Ford ministry upon taking office changed the economic ministry's name to Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade,[9] but had kept it as such since for eight years (and counting), making it the ministry's most durable name in four decades.

Perhaps not intending for any durability for such rebranding exercises, the successive ministries carried out the dozen or so name changes with orders-in-council and rarely bothered to formalize them with enabling legislations or corresponding legislative amendments. For example, the NDP Rae ministry renamed the ministry as the Ministry of Economic and Trade in 1993,[10] but the ministry's enabling legislation was not amended to formalize the change until 2006.Good Government Act. Statutes of the Province of Ontario. Vol. SO 2006. 2006. c.19, sch.I. The ministry's name changed four times in the intervening period. Since 2006, the ministry changed its name seven more times, and not once was the ministry's enabling legislation amended to reflect the change. While the economic ministry was the primary target for such improvised rebranding, the practice of renaming ministry for transitory communications purposes had spread to many other ministry in recent years.

Successive ministries since the 1980s have recognized the growing importance of technology and innovation industries to the future strength of the province economy. Both the Liberal Peterson ministry and the Progressive Conservative Harris and Eves ministry had employed ministry name changes as a mean to highlight their intention to prioritize this policy area.

To place increased emphasis on enabling leading edge research and attracting companies and jobs of innovation sectors to Ontario, the McGuinty ministry created a related Ministry of Research and Innovation in 2005, with Premier McGuinty personally taking on the portfolio as its inaugural minister. It was briefly merged back into the main economic ministry in 2011, but re-emerged as a separate portfolio in 2013 in the Wynne ministry. While politically a standalone ministry for over a decade, during its second stint its operational independence was quite apparently limited, as it regained neither its own deputy minister (the civil service head)[11] nor its own estimates,[12] a peculiarity given its sizable budget

A related Ministry of International Trade existed between 2008 and 2009 , and again from 2016 and 2018. In 2017. During these period the economic portfolio was, at least on paper, held by three different ministers as three separate portfolios.

In 2022, the Ford ministry created a Ministry of Red Tape Reduction.

List of ministers

Principal MinisterTerm of office Ministry
(Party)		 additional minister
Minister of Planning and Development Drew-Kennedy
PC
Dana PorterMay 8, 1944Oct 19, 1948
Art WelshOct 19, 1948May 4, 1949
William GriesingerMay 4, 1949Jan 20, 1953 Frost
PC
Bill WarrenderJan 20, 1953Aug 17, 1955
William NickleAug 17, 1955Nov 8, 1961
Minister of Commerce and Development Robarts
PC
Robert MacaulayNov 8, 1961Dec 15, 1961
Minister of Economics and Development
Robert MacaulayDec 15, 1961Oct 16, 1963
James AllanOct 16, 1963Nov 8, 1963
Stan RandallNov 8, 1963April 11, 1968
Minister of Trade and Development
Stan RandallApril 11, 1968March 1, 1971
Allan GrossmanMarch 1, 1971Feb 2, 1972 Davis
PC
John WhiteFeb 2, 1972April 7, 1972
Minister of Industry and Tourism
John WhiteApril 7, 1972Jan 15, 1973
Claude BennettJan 15, 1973Jan 21, 1978
John Reginald RhodesJan 21, 1978Sep 25, 1978
Larry GrossmanOct 18, 1978Feb 13, 1982
Minister of Industry and Trade Development
Gordon WalkerFeb 13, 1982July 6, 1983
Frank MillerJuly 6, 1983Feb 8, 1985 [b]
Minister of Industry and Trade Miller
PC
Andy BrandtFeb 8, 1985June 26, 1985
Minister of Industry, Trade and Technology Peterson
Liberal
Hugh O'NeilJune 26, 1985Sep 29, 1987
Monte KwinterSep 29, 1987Oct 1, 1990
Allan PilkeyOct 1, 1990July 31, 1991 Rae
NDP
Ed PhilipJuly 31, 1991Feb 3, 1993
Minister of Economic Development and Trade
Frances LankinFeb 3, 1993June 26, 1995
Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Tourism Harris
PC
Bill SaundersonJune 26, 1995Oct 10, 1997 Energy, Science and Technology
Al PalladiniOct 10, 1997June 17, 1999 Jim WilsonOctober 10, 1997April 14, 2002
Economic Development and Trade
Al Palladini June 17, 1999February 7, 2001[c]
Bob RuncimanFebruary 8, 2001April 14, 2002
Enterprise, Opportunity and Innovation Eves
PC		 Associate Minister
Jim FlahertyApril 15, 2002Oct 22, 2003 David TurnbullApril 15, 2002Oct 22, 2003
Economic Development and Trade McGuinty
Liberal		 Research and Innovation
Joseph CordianoOct 23, 2003Sep 18, 2006[d] Dalton McGuinty[e]June 29, 2005Oct 15, 2007
Sandra PupatelloSep 16, 2006Sep 18, 2008 John WilkinsonOct 30, 2007June 24, 2009
Economic DevelopmentInternational Trade and Investment
Michael BryantSep 18, 2008May 25, 2009[f] Sandra PupatelloSep 18, 2008June 24, 2009
Dalton McGuinty [g] actingMay 25, 2009June 24, 2009
Economic Development and TradeResearch and Innovation
Sandra PupatelloJune 24, 2009Oct 20, 2011 John MilloyJune 24, 2009Aug 18, 2010
Minister of Economic Development and Innovation Glen MurrayAug 18, 2010Oct 20, 2011
Brad DuguidOct 20, 2011Feb 11, 2013
Economic Development, Trade and Employment Wynne)
Liberal		 Research and Innovation
Eric HoskinsFeb 11, 2013June 24, 2014 Reza MoridiFeb 11, 2013June 13, 2016
Economic Development, Employment & Infrastructure
Brad DuguidJune 24, 2014June 13, 2016
Economic Development and GrowthResearch and Innovation
Brad DuguidJune 13, 2016Jan 17, 2018Reza MoridiJune 13, 2016June 29, 2018
International Trade
Steven Del DucaJan 17, 2018June 29, 2018 Michael ChanJune 13, 2016June 29, 2018
(responsible for Small Business)
Jeff LealJan 12, 2017June 29, 2018
Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Ford
PC
Jim WilsonJune 29, 2018Nov 2, 2018[h]
Todd SmithNov 2, 2018 [i]June 20, 2019 Associate Min. (Small Business & Red Tape Reduction)
Vic Fedeli[j]June 20, 2019present Prabmeet SarkariaJune 20, 2019June 18, 2021
Nina TangriJune 18, 2021June 24, 2022
Associate Min. (Small Business)
Nina TangriSeptember 4, 2023present
Red Tape Reduction
Parm Gill[13][14]June 24, 2022Jan 25, 2024
Mike Harris Jr.June 6, 2024March 19, 2025
Andrea KhanjinMarch 19, 2025present

References

Footnotes

  1. ↑ The 1995 recoupling and 1999 decoupling with the tourism ministry; the 2014 coupling and 2016 decoupling with the infrastructure ministry
  2. ↑ held portfolio when elected leader of the Progressive Conservatives Party and became Premier
  3. ↑ resignation - personal reasons, died shortly after
  4. ↑ resignation - retired from politics
  5. ↑ while Premier
  6. ↑ resignation - became CEO of Invest Toronto
  7. ↑ while Premier
  8. ↑ resignation - upon allegation by staff of misconduct
  9. ↑ Interim minister prior to November 5, 2018
  10. ↑ Concurrently Chair of Cabinet

Ministry's enabling legislations

  • An Act for the encouragement of Agriculture, Horticulture, Arts and Manufactures. Statutes of the Province of Ontario. Vol. 31 Victoria. 1868. c.29.
  • The Department of Planning and Development Act. Statutes of the Province of Ontario. Vol. 8 George Vi. 1944. c.16.
  • The Department of Economics Act, 1956. Statutes of the Province of Ontario. Vol. 4/5 Elizabeth II. 1956. c.16.
  • Department of Commerce and Development Act, 1960-61. Statutes of the Province of Ontario. Vol. 9/10 Elizabeth II. 1961. c.18.
  • An Act to amalgamate the Department of Economics and Federal and Provincial Relations and the Department of Commerce and Development. Statutes of the Province of Ontario. Vol. 10/11 Elizabeth II. 1962. c.30.
  • Ministry of Industry and Tourism Act, 1972. Statutes of the Province of Ontario. Vol. S.O. 1972. 1972. c.5."
  • Ministry of Industry and Trade Act, 1982. Statutes of the Province of Ontario. Vol. S.O.1982. 1982. c.31."

Other citations and references

  1. ↑ Ontario 1868, s.2.
  2. ↑ See for example, McKellar, Archibald (1872). "Annual Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Public Works on Agriculture and Arts for the year 1871". Ontario Sessional Papers. 4 (1). No.5.
  3. ↑ Ontario 1944.
  4. ↑ Ontario 1956.
  5. ↑ Ontario 1961.
  6. ↑ Ontario 1962.
  7. ↑ Ontario 1972.
  8. ↑ Ontario 1982.
  9. ↑ Office of the Premier (June 29, 2018). "Doug Ford and Cabinet to be Sworn-in as Ontario's First Ever Government for the People". Government of Ontario Newsroom. Queen's Printer for Ontario.
  10. ↑ Drumond, Robert (1993). Leyton-Brown, David (ed.). "The Provincial Perspectives - Ontario". Canadian Annual Review of Politics and Public Affairs (1993): 130.
  11. ↑ Office of the Premier (2014-08-13). "New and Expanded Responsibilities for Ministries and Deputy Ministers". Government of Ontario Newsroom.
  12. ↑ See for example Supply Act, 2014. Annual Statutes of Ontario. Vol. SO 2014. 2014. c.1, sch.A.
  13. ↑ "Who's in, who's out: A look at Ontario Premier Doug Ford's new cabinet | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Canadian Press. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
  14. ↑ "Ontario PCs' Parm Gill resigns from cabinet to run for Poilievre's Conservatives". CBC News. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
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