Ontario. Executive Council Office

• Executive Council Office

The Executive Council Office of the Government of Ontario, headed by the Clerk of the Executive Council, was established in 1867.

In the early years of its existence, the Office consisted of a small staff which was responsible for the recording of cabinet business, and was attached to the Department of the Attorney General. In 1905, however, Premier Whitney established the portfolio of "Office of the Prime Minister and President of the Executive Council", to which the Executive Council Office was subsequently attached. The Office was again transferred, this time to the Department of the Provincial Secretary, in 1946.

In 1948, a Cabinet Office was established to meet the expanding needs of the Cabinet for policy development and analysis and staffing support. With this development, the Executive Council Office was attached to the new Cabinet Office, where it has remained ever since.

The Cabinet Office itself, however, became a part of the Premier's Office in 1949. Since then the Executive Council Office, as part of the Cabinet Office, has come under the administrative control of the Premier.

The Executive Council Office of the Government of Ontario maintains the official records of the Executive Council. As such, the Office is responsible for the reception and transmission of Petitions, the acceptance of Oaths of members of the Council and senior government officials, and the preparation and preservation of Orders in Council.

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

2026-11-16: migrated to AtoM

Bell, George and Andrew Pascoe. The Ontario Government: Structure and Functions (1988)

Government of Ontario Telephone Directories

Hodgetts, J.E. From Arm's Length to Hand's On: The Formative Years of Ontario's Public Service 1867-1940 (1995)

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

Archivist(s):
Robert Anger