Ontario. Office of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Arts

• Office of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Arts

Under the British North America Act of 1867, the Lieutenant Governor was given authority to appoint, as one of the executive officers of the government, a Commissioner of Agriculture and Public Works. Legislation passed in 1868, formally established this position and created the Department of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Public Works. Reflecting the position's dual responsibility to both agriculture and public works, the one Commissioner essentially held two positions: when dealing with matters relating to arts and agriculture, the Commissioner was referred to as the Commissioner of Agriculture and Arts; and when dealing with matters related to public works the Commissioner was referred to as the Commissioner of Public Works.

As Commissioner of Agriculture and Arts, this individual was the head of the Bureau of Agriculture and Arts, and responsible for its direction and administration. The Commissioner was also to be a member of the Council of the Agricultural and Arts Association.

In 1874, the dual responsibility of the Commissioner was formally ended, when a separate Commissioner for Public Works was established. The name of the Department, however, continued to be the Department of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Public Works until 1877, when it was renamed the Department of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Arts.

In 1880, the arts-related responsibilities of the Commissioner were transferred to the Department of Education. The Commissioner's title, however, remained that of Commissioner of Agriculture and Arts until 1888.

On March 23, 1888, the Department of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Arts was renamed the Department of Agriculture. With this change, the title of Commissioner of Agriculture and Arts was formally changed to that of Minister of Agriculture.

The Commissioner of Agriculture and Arts was responsible for administering the agricultural, horticultural, manufacturing and arts-related activities of the Government of Ontario and for reporting on these activities to the Lieutenant Governor. The Commissioner was also required to collect statistics and information from, and report upon the activities of, the various agricultural associations and societies of the province. The Commissioner was also responsible for providing financial assistance to these associations in the form of legislative grants.

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

2026-11-16: migrated to AtoM

Bishop, Olga. Publications of the Government of Ontario, 1869-1900 (1976)

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

Archivist(s):
R. Anger