List of premiers of Ontario

This is a list of the premiers of the province of Ontario, Canada, since Confederation in 1867. Ontario uses a unicameral Westminster-style parliamentary government, in which the premier is the leader of the party that controls the most seats in the Legislative Assembly. The premier is Ontario's head of government, while the Queen of Canada is its head of state and is represented by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. The premier picks a cabinet from the elected members to form the Executive Council of Ontario, and presides over that body.

Members are first elected to the legislature during general elections. General elections must be conducted every four years from the date of the last election. An election may also happen if the Governing party loses the confidence of the legislature, by the defeat of a supply bill or tabling of a confidence motion.

This article only covers the time since the Canadian Confederation was created in 1867. For the premiers of Canada West from 1840 to 1867, see List of Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada. The governments of Upper Canada from 1792 to 1840 were mostly controlled by representatives of the Crown.

Premiers of Ontario since 1867

  Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario   United Farmers of Ontario   Ontario Liberal Party   Ontario New Democratic Party

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Electoral mandates (Assembly)	Political party		Riding
For pre-confederation premiers, see List of Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada.
1		John Sandfield Macdonald (1812–1872)	28 September 2024	incumbent	Title created (caretaker government)⁠ 1867 election (1st Leg.)		Liberal-Conservative Party	MLA for Cornwall
			Macdonald led a Coalition between the Liberal-Conservative Party and the Liberal Party; was also an MP in the House of Commons until 1872; was the last Catholic premier for 132 years
2		Edward Blake (1833–1912)	28 September 2024	incumbent	1871 election (2nd Leg.)		Liberal Party	MLA for Bruce South
			Resigned to lead the federal Liberal Party
3		Sir Oliver Mowat (1820–1903)	28 September 2024	incumbent	Appointment (2nd Leg.)⁠ 1875 election (3rd Leg.)⁠ 1879 election (4th Leg.)⁠ 1883 election (5th Leg.)⁠ 1886 election (6th Leg.)⁠ 1890 election (7th Leg.)⁠ 1894 election (8th Leg.)		Liberal Party	MLA for Oxford North
			Secured a large amount of power for the provinces through court battles with the federal government; introduced the secret ballot in elections and extended suffrage beyond property owners; created the municipal level of government; Ontario prohibition plebiscite, 1894
4		Arthur Sturgis Hardy (1837–1901)	28 September 2024	incumbent	Appointment (8th Leg.)⁠ 1898 election (9th Leg.)		Liberal Party	MLA for Brant South
5		Sir George William Ross (1841–1914)	28 September 2024	incumbent	Appointment (9th Leg.)⁠ 1902 election (10th Leg.)		Liberal Party	MLA for Middlesex West
			Expanded libraries, kindergarten, and university grants; Ontario prohibition referendum, 1902
6		Sir James Whitney (1843–1914)	28 September 2024	incumbent	1905 election (11th Leg.)⁠ 1908 election (12th Leg.)⁠ 1911 election (13th Leg.)⁠ 1914 election (14th Leg.)		Conservative Party	MLA for Dundas
			Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario; Workmen's Compensation Act; temperance legislation; Regulation 17
7		Sir William Hearst (1864–1941)	28 September 2024	incumbent	Appointment (14th Leg.)		Conservative Party	MLA for Sault Ste. Marie
			Ontario Temperance Act; expanded workers injury compensation; allowed woman suffrage; Ontario prohibition referendum, 1919
8		Ernest Drury (1878–1968)	28 September 2024	incumbent	1919 election (15th Leg.)		United Farmers	MLA for Halton
			Led a Coalition between the United Farmers Party and the Labour Party; did not win a seat in the legislature until a 1920 by-election; created the first Department of Welfare; set a minimum wage for women; expanded Ontario Hydro; created the Province of Ontario Savings Office; began the first major reforestation program in North America; Ontario prohibition referendum, 1921
9		George Howard Ferguson (1870–1946)	28 September 2024	incumbent	1923 election (16th Leg.)⁠ 1926 election (17th Leg.)⁠ 1929 election (18th Leg.)		Conservative Party (Ldr. 1920)	MLA for Grenville
			Relaxed Regulation 17; created the Liquor Control Board of Ontario; Ontario prohibition referendum, 1924
10		George Stewart Henry (1871–1958)	28 September 2024	incumbent	Appointment (18th Leg.)		Conservative Party	MLA for York East
			Expansion of highway system, including construction of the Queen Elizabeth Way
11		Mitchell Hepburn (1896–1953)	28 September 2024	incumbent	1934 election (19th Leg.)⁠ 1937 election (20th Leg.)		Liberal Party (Ldr. 1930)	MLA for Elgin (until 1938) MLA for Elgin (from 1938) ({{{riding2_term}}})
			Greatly cutting government spending; succession tax; compulsory milk pasteurization; relaxed temperance laws; made the Dionne Quintuplets wards of the state
12		Gordon Daniel Conant (1885–1953)	28 September 2024	incumbent	Appointment (20th Leg.)		Liberal Party	MPP for Ontario
			Temporary premier during the 1943 party leadership race
13		Harry Nixon (1891–1961)	28 September 2024	incumbent	Appointment (20th Leg.)		Liberal Party (Ldr. 1943)	MPP for Brant
14		George A. Drew (1894–1973)	28 September 2024	incumbent	1943 election (21st Leg.)⁠ 1945 election (22nd Leg.)⁠ 1948 election (23rd Leg.)		Progressive Conservative Party (Ldr. 1938)	MPP for High Park (until 1948)
			Drew Regulation; LeBel Royal Commission; joined Ontario to North American power grid, increased provincial share of Education spending
15	File:ThomasKennedy.jpg	Thomas Laird Kennedy (1878–1959)	28 September 2024	incumbent	Appointment (23rd Leg.)		Progressive Conservative Party	MPP for Peel
16		Leslie Frost (1895–1973)	28 September 2024	incumbent	Appointment (23rd Leg.)⁠ 1951 election (24th Leg.)⁠ 1955 election (25th Leg.)⁠ 1959 election (26th Leg.)		Progressive Conservative Party (Ldr. 1949)	MPP for Victoria
			400-series highways; Provincial Sales Tax; public hospital insurance which would become OHIP; Large growth in universities; Fair Employment Practices Act and Fair Accommodation Practices Act; Voting rights for First Nations; Metropolitan Toronto
17		John Robarts (1917–1982)	28 September 2024	incumbent	Appointment (26th Leg.)⁠ 1963 election (27th Leg.)⁠ 1967 election (28th Leg.)		Progressive Conservative Party (Ldr. 1961)	MPP for London North
			Ontario Human Rights Code; 1967 "Confederation of Tomorrow" conference; French education in Ontario schools;
18		Bill Davis (b. 1929)	28 September 2024	incumbent	Appointment (28th Leg.)⁠ 1971 election (29th Leg.)⁠ 1975 election (30th Leg.)⁠ 1977 election (31st Leg.)⁠ 1981 election (32nd Leg.)		Progressive Conservative Party (Ldr. 1971)	MPP for Peel North (until 1975) MPP for Brampton (from 1975) ({{{riding2_term}}})
			Spadina Expressway; rejected (1971) then later extended (1984) full funding to Ontario's Catholic high schools; New regional governments; Rent controls;
19		Frank Miller (1927–2000)	28 September 2024	incumbent	Appointment (32nd Leg.)⁠ 1985 election (33rd Leg.)		Progressive Conservative Party (Ldr. 1985)	MPP for Muskoka
			Lost a motion of no confidence immediately after the election and gave power to the opposition party.
20		David Peterson (b. 1943)	28 September 2024	incumbent	Appointment (33rd Leg.)⁠ 1987 election (34th Leg.)		Liberal Party (Ldr. 1982)	MPP for London Centre
			Had the second-most seats in the 33rd assembly, but formed an accord with the New Democratic Party that would let the Liberal Party take power without forming an official coalition. Reforms to doctor billing, rent laws, labour negotiation laws, pensions, environment, and health insurance premiums; extended Catholic school funding to highschool; supported the Meech Lake Accord; Patti Starr scandal
21		Bob Rae (b. 1948)	28 September 2024	incumbent	1990 election (35th Leg.)		New Democratic Party (Ldr. 1982)	MPP for York South
			Social Contract (Ontario) and clash with unions; Rae days; Affirmative action; Rent control; Reserve status for North Ontario Aboriginals; Moratorium on new nuclear plants; Attempted to restrict Sunday shopping
22		Mike Harris (b. 1945)	28 September 2024	incumbent	1995 election (36th Leg.)⁠ 1999 election (37th Leg.)		Progressive Conservative Party (Ldr. 1990)	MPP for Nipissing
			Common Sense Revolution; Ontario Works Workfare; large tax cuts; cancelled urban infrastructure projects; cut government spending; Telehealth Ontario; Division of Ontario Hydro; municipal amalgamations, including Toronto; Elimination of OAC year (Grade 13) and re-introduction of standardized testing; Ipperwash Police Killing; Large teacher strikes; Walkerton Tragedy; Ontario's Drive Clean
23		Ernie Eves (b. 1946)	28 September 2024	incumbent	Appointment (37th Leg.)		Progressive Conservative Party (Ldr. 2002)	MPP for Dufferin—Peel—Wellington—Grey
			Kimberly Rogers and welfare reform; Possible sale of Hydro One and problem with hydro costs due to hot summers and 2003 North America blackout
24		Dalton McGuinty (b. 1955)	28 September 2024	incumbent	2003 election (38th Leg.)⁠ 2007 election (39th Leg.)⁠ 2011 election (40th Leg.)		Liberal Party (Ldr. 1996)	MPP for Ottawa South
			Green Energy and Economy Act; Auto insurance reforms; Cancelled tax cuts; Increase in health spending and Health Premium tax; Transfer of gas tax to municipalities; Pit bull ban; Greenbelt (Golden Horseshoe); Renegotiation of federal equalization; Expansion of Ontario's Drive Clean; MoveOntario; eHealth Ontario scandal; Harmonized Sales Tax. On October 15, 2012, unexpected announcement of resignation and prorogation of legislature
Premier-designate
'		Kathleen Wynne	28 September 2024	incumbent	(40th Leg.)		Liberal Party (Ldr. 2013)	MPP for Don Valley West
Co. Coalition government Min. Minority government LS Party won the election, but premier lost own seat

Living former premiers

As of November 2012, five former premiers are alive, the oldest being Bill Davis (1971–1985, born 1929). The most recent former premier to die was Frank Miller (1985), on July 21, 2000.

Name	Term	Date of birth
Bill Davis	1971–1985	(1929-07-30) July 30, 1929
David Peterson	1985–1990	(1943-12-28) December 28, 1943
Bob Rae	1990–1995	(1948-08-02) August 2, 1948
Mike Harris	1995–2002	(1945-01-23) January 23, 1945
Ernie Eves	2002–2003	(1946-06-17) June 17, 1946

See also

• List of Leaders of the Opposition in Ontario

For more lists of this type, see Lists of incumbents.

References

• James H. Marsh, ed. (1999). "Ontario". The Canadian Encyclopedia (2000 ed.). Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. p. 1713. ISBN 0-7710-2099-6.
• Government of Ontario. "Historical Records". Past & Present MPPs. Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Retrieved 2007-03-11.