Ontario. Legislative Assembly

• Legislative Assembly

• Legislature of Ontario

• Ontario. Legislature

The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario came into existence in 1867 at Confederation, replacing the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada. It is frequently referred to as the "House", or as "Queen's Park".

The Legislative Assembly contains a number of offices and agencies which support the activities of members of the Legislature. These include the Office of the Speaker, the Office of the Clerk of the House, the Legislative Library, and after 1920, the Chief Election Officer. From 1867 to 1933, these offices were paid directly through a special appropriation and reported directly to the Legislature, through the Speaker of the House. Between 1933 and 1948, the term "Department of Legislation" was sometimes applied to the offices.

In 1948 the offices were moved to the jurisdiction of the Department of the Provincial Secretary, known after 1961 as the Department of the Provincial Secretary and Citizenship. In 1972, when the Department of the Provincial Secretary and Citizenship ceased to exist, the Office of the Speaker, the Office of the Clerk of the House, and the Chief Election Officer were moved back to the jurisdiction of the Legislative Assembly, while administrative services and the Legislative Library were moved to the Ministry of Government Services. Within this Ministry, a Legislative Services Division was created which encompassed these branches.

In 1974 revisions to the Legislative Assembly Act reformed the administration of the Assembly by creating the Office of the Assembly. This Office consisted of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker, the Clerk of the House, the First Clerk Assistant, the Sergeant-at-Arms and the Director of Administration, and oversaw all Legislative Assembly Agencies.

When the Office of the Ombudsman and the Commission on Election Finances were created in 1975, these also reported through the Office of the Assembly. The Office of the Provincial Auditor was moved to the Office of the Assembly in 1977.

In addition, the Legislative Assembly periodically struck committees to examine particular addresses, bills, resolutions or petitions. These were known as "select committees", and generally issued their reports and then dissolved. The Legislative Assembly also contained a number of standing committees, which were established with each sitting of the Legislature.

The Legislative Assembly of Ontario consists of all Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) elected by the people of Ontario in their constituencies to represent them. The three main functions of the Assembly are to consider and approve legislation, to authorize the collection of revenue for the operation of the government, and to ensure that policies of the government are subjected to criticism.

Constitution Act (British North America Act), Statutes of Great Britain 1867, Chap. 3

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

2026-11-16: migrated to AtoM

Public Accounts of the Province of Ontario, 1980-1990.

Canadiana Name Authorities, 1996-12- 24

KWIC Guide to Ontario Services, Spring 1986.

The Department of Legislation seems to appear only in the Public Accounts of the Government of Ontario. The Office of the Assembly appears in legislation and the Public Accounts, but not in telephone directories, etc. During the period that these two "bodies" exist, agencies subordinate to them should be subordinated to the Legislative Assembly itself.

Archivist(s):
R. Anger