Ontario. Office of the Attorney General (1791-1969)

• Office of the Attorney General

The first Attorney General for Ontario was appointed in 1867. However, the governments of both Upper Canada (1791- 1841) and the Province of Canada (1841- 1867) had Attorneys General.

From 1867 until 1899, with the exception of a ten month period between December 1871 and October 1872, the Attorney General also held the position of Premier.

Twenty-one individuals held the position of Attorney General between 1867 and 1969. They were: the Hon. J.S. MacDonald (1867-71); the Hon. Adam Crooks (1871-72); the Hon. Oliver Mowat (1872-96); the Hon. A.S. Hardy (1896- 99); the Hon. John M. Gibson (1899- 1904); the Hon. F.R. Latchford (1904- 05); the Hon. J.P. Whitney (1905); the Hon. J.J. Foy (1905-14); the Hon. I.B. Lucas (1914-19); the Hon. W.E. Pancy (1919-23); the Hon. W.F. Nickle (1923- 26); the Hon. William Price (1926-34); the Hon. Arthur Roebuck (1934-37); the Hon. Paul Leduc (1937); the Hon. Gordon Conant (1937-43); the Hon. Eric Cross (1943); the Hon. Leslie Blackwell (1943- 49); the Hon. Dana Porter (1949-55); the Hon. A. Kelso Roberts (1955-62); the Hon. Fred Cass (1962-64); and the Hon. A.A. Wishart (1964-71).

In 1969 the Attorney General's title was changed to Minister of Justice and Attorney General to reflect the position's responsibilities for all aspects of the justice system in Ontario including the police. The name of the Attorney General's Department was also changed to the Department of Justice.

The Attorney General headed the Department of the Attorney General and its predecessors, and was responsible for administering the justice system through the instigation or suppression of prosecutions. The Attorney General was also responsible for providing legal/constitutional advice to the members of the Executive Council.

At least to an informal degree there has always been (since 1791 at any rate) an office to serve the administrative, policy and political responsibilities of the Attorney General; although in the early period of settlement, the only officers were the Attorney General and his subordinate, the Solicitor General, plus such clerks and other support staff as could be obtained.

The office expanded through the 19th century as the constitutional role of the Attorney General superseded his responsibilities as the active litigator for the crown. Over time, the Office of the Attorney General grew to be responsible for providing centralised direction to all officers of the courts operating in the counties and regions, and for providing the advice required by the Attorney General as the political head of the department.

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

2026-11-16: migrated to AtoM

Ministry of the Attorney General Annual Report, 1974-1975

Public Accounts, 1855-1905

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

Archivist(s):
R. Anger