Ontario. Ministry of Transportation. Northwestern Region

• Northwestern Region

• Ontario. Dept. of Highways. Northwestern Region

• Ontario. Ministry of Transportation and Communications. Northwestern Region

The Office of the Northwestern Region was established in 1956 within the Ontario Department of Highways in order to co-ordinate the various district engineers offices in the Northwestern part of the province. The Northwestern Region itself consisted of the Cochrane, Fort William (later Thunder Bay), and Kenora districts. In 1971, the Sault Ste. Marie District was added to the Northwestern Region from the Northern Region, while in 1977, the Cochrane District was moved out of the Northwestern Region to the Northern Region.

The Office of the Northwestern Region, under the direction of a Regional Services Manager, reported to the Operations Branch, until 1971. In that year, the Ontario Department of Highways and the Ontario Department of Transport were amalgamated to form the Ontario Department (and later Ministry) of Transportation and Communications. Following this development, the head of the Office of the Northwestern Region, now known as the Regional Director, began reporting to the Executive Director of the Operations Division. This organizational structure lasted until 1976, when the various Regional Directors began reporting to the Assistant Deputy Minister of Operations. From 1981 to 1983, the Regional Directors reported to the Assistant Deputy Minister of Provincial Highways, and form 1983 to 1992, directly to the Deputy Minister. Since 1992, however, the Regional Offices have reported to the Assistant Deputy Minister of Operations.

By 1980, field operations within the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Communications were decentralized, and the five regional offices, including the Office of the Northwestern Region, assumed greater responsibility for programs and activities within their respective regions. By 1986, the regional offices generally consisted of eight different sections: Administrative Services, the Construction Office, the Driver and Vehicle Office, the Engineering and Right of Way Office, the Maintenance Office, the Municipal Roads Office, Remote Northern Transportation, and Resource Planning and Scheduling.

The Office of the Northwestern Region was originally responsible solely for construction and maintenance activities of Ontario provincial highways in the northwestern part of the province. Starting in 1978, however, field operations in the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Communications were decentralized. With this change, the Office of the Northwestern Region assumed more direct responsibility over such activities as: route planning, design, construction and maintenance of the provincial highways in this area; the delivery of municipal roads and municipal transit subsidies; and responsibility for driver examinations, vehicle inspections and highway carrier enforcement.

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

2026-11-16: migrated to AtoM

MTO Annual Reports, 1956-1986; Government of Ontario Telephone Directories, 1963-1999; KWIC Indexes to Government Services, 1981-1995.

Not found in Canadiana Authorities, 1996-12-24.

Archivist(s):
Lisa Singer, Mark Epp