Ontario. Dept. of Lands and Forests

• Department of Lands and Forests

The Department of Lands and Forests was established in 1920, when the Bureau of Mines of the former Department of Lands, Forests and Mines was elevated into a separate department. The Department was presided over by the Minister of Lands and Forests, who was assisted by a Deputy Minister and a number of Divisional Chiefs.

Most of the former non-mine functions of the Department of Lands, Forests and Mines were continued by the Department of Lands and Forests. An exception to this, however, was the transfer of the Colonization and Immigration Branch to the Department of Agriculture in 1920.

In 1926, the Northern Development Branch was also removed from the Department of Lands and Forests and established as the Department of Northern Development. Although a separate Minister was given direction over this Department, the Department was still required to submit its annual reports to the Minister of Lands and Forests until 1935.

In 1941, the Department was considerably reorganized, and many of the branches of the Department were restructured as divisions. The Forestry Branch was divided into three new divisions - the Division of Forest Protection, the Division of Air Services, and the Division of Reforestation; the Lands Branch was renamed the Division of Land and Recreational Areas; the Surveys Branch was renamed the Division of Surveys; the Accounts Branch was renamed the Division of Accounts; and the Woods and Forest Branch was renamed the Division of Timber Management. Two new divisions - the Division of Law and the Division of Research - were also created at this time.

Further developments within the Department, between 1941 and 1972, included the transfer of the Games and Fisheries Department to the Department of Lands and Forests, and its subsequent renaming as the Division of Fish and Wildlife, in 1946; the separation of the Division of Lands and Recreational Parks into the Division of Lands and the Division of Parks, in 1954; the transfer of the Conservation Authorities Branch from the Department of Planning and Development in 1962; and the renaming of many of the divisions of the Department as branches, in 1959.

The Department existed until 1972, when it amalgamated with the Department of Mines and Northern Affairs to form the Ministry of Natural Resources.

The Department of Lands and Forests was responsible for developing, administering, and regulating the Crown Lands, forests, fish and wildlife of the Province. Specific responsibilities of the Department included forest protection and forest fire fighting, control and sale of crown lands, reforestation and timber management, and research into forest management.

Department of Mines Act, Statutes of Ontario 1920, Chap. 12

RAD: Rules for Archival Description, 2nd edn (2008)

2026-11-16: migrated to AtoM

MacTaggart, Hazel I. Publications of the Government of Ontario, 1901-1955 (1964)

MacTaggart, Hazel I. Publications of the Government of Ontario, 1956-1971 (1975)

Directory and Guide to Services of the Ontario Government, 1950

Canadiana Name Authorities, 1996-12-24

The Department of Mines Act of 1920, which established the Department of Mines, also provided the authority over the change of name of the Department of Lands, Forests and Mines to that of Department of Lands and Forests.

Archivist(s):
R. Anger