Ontario. Education Office

• Education Office

The "Common School Act", 1841, which came into effect on January 1, 1842, created the position of Superintendent of Education with responsibility for education in the United Province. The Provincial Secretary was appointed the Superintendent of Education and an Assistant Superintendent of Education was appointed for Upper Canada, working out of the Education Office in Kingston.

The "Education Act", 1843, which came into effect on January 1, 1844, stated that the Provincial Secretary would be the Chief Superintendent of Education and formally created the position of Assistant Superintendent of Education for Upper Canada.

In 1846 the Education Office became part of the General Board of Education for Canada West, and the position of Chief Superintendent became an appointed position. A clerk was appointed to assist the Chief Superintendent. With passage of the School Act of 1850 the Education Office became part of the Department of Public Instruction in 1850, and the Chief Superintendent was empowered to appoint one of his clerks as Deputy Superintendent. The Education Office and the positions of Chief Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent ceased to exist in 1876 when the Department of Education was created under the "Act Respecting the Education Department".

The Education Office was headed by the following individuals: Rev. Robert Murray, Assistant Superintendent of Education for Canada West, 1842-1843 (the Provincial Secretary was the ex- officio Chief Superintendent of Education); Rev. Egerton Ryerson, Assistant Superintendent of Education for Canada West, 1844-1876 (Chief Superintendent from 1846, Chief Superintendent of Education for Ontario from 1867); and Rev. Alexander McNab, Acting Assistant Superintendent of Education for Canada West, 1842-1845.

The Education Office was the chief branch of the Department of Public Instruction for the Province of Canada. It dealt with the general administration of Common and Grammar School laws, and made decisions regarding legal problems, appeals and complaints. The Education Office furnished information through circulars and the Journal of Education (first published in 1848), and was concerned with school financing, business records, the granting of certificates, issuing and registering teachers' certificates, the apportionment and payment of pensions and the preparation of the Annual Report. The Chief and Assistant Superintendents of Education, as heads of the Education Office, corresponded with Municipal Councils, local superintendents, trustees and teachers. The Chief Superintendent was also an ex-officio member of the Council of Public Instruction.

The Common Schools Act, Statutes of the Province of Canada 1841, Chap. 16

The Education Act, Statutes of the Province of Canada 1843, Chap. 29

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

2026-11-16: migrated to AtoM

Bishop, Olga. Publications of the Government of the Province of Canada, 1841-1867 (1963)

Bishop, Olga. Publications of the Government of Ontario, 1867-1900 (1976)

Agency not found in Canadiana Name Authorities, 1996-12-24

Archivist(s):
G. Brown, S. Paquet, R. Stapleton