Ministry of Health (Ontario)

The Ministry of Health is the Government of Ontario ministry responsible for administering the health care system in the Canadian province of Ontario.[1]

Ministry of Health
Ministère de la Santé (French)
Ministry overview
Formed1882 (current name since June 20, 2019)
Preceding Ministry
  • Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
JurisdictionGovernment of Ontario
Headquarters777 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Ministers responsible
  • Sylvia Jones, Minister of Health
  • Michael Tibollo, Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions
  • Robin Martin, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Health
Child Ministry
  • Ontario Health
Websitewww.health.gov.on.ca
Not to be confused with Ontario Health (agency) or Ontario Health Insurance Plan.

The ministry is responsible to the Ontario Legislature through the minister of health, presently Sylvia Jones since June 24, 2022.

Services and programs

The ministry also regulates hospitals, operates some medical laboratories and regulates others, and co-ordinates emergency medical services for the province.

The ministry once operated ambulance services outside of major cities in Ontario, but the services were downloaded to municipalities around 1998.

History

In the early years of Canadian Confederation, health was still considered primarily a municipal rather than provincial matter. The Public Health Act of 1873 permitted the Lieutenant Governor to establish, by proclamation, a temporary "Central Board of Health" to deal with disease if it reached epidemic proportions. However, no proclamations were ever made, and a Central Board was never established.

The Provincial Board of Health was established on March 10, 1882, and it was charged with overseeing the many local health boards. It also assumed the responsibility of dealing with an epidemic, if one should arise. The board reported to the Lieutenant Governor (1882-1903), to the Provincial Secretary (1904-1918), then to the Department of Labour (1919-1924).

In 1924, the Provincial Board of Health was replaced by the Department of Health. In 1930, the department accepted from the Department of the Provincial Secretary the responsibilities for administering Ontario's psychiatric hospitals and inspecting the province's public and private hospitals. Also in 1930, the Department of Hospitals was established under the direction of the first Minister of Health; that department became a division of the Department of Health in 1934. In 1952, cancer research and the operation of cancer clinics was added to the department's responsibilities. Insured hospital services and insured physicians' services, introduced in 1959 and 1966 respectively, were combined under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) in 1972. The department also had responsibility over areas that are no longer associated with health, such as water and sewage functions (prior to 1957), mental retardation facilities and children's services (transferred to the Ministry of Community and Social Services in 1974), and occupational health (transferred to the Ministry of Labour in 1976).

In 1961, the Royal Commission on Health Services, chaired by Justice Emmett Matthew Hall, was appointed, which served as a catalyst for a major overhaul of the department.

In 1972, the Department of Health was renamed the Ministry of Health in a government-wide restructuring. In 1999, the Ministry of Health was renamed the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. On June 20, 2019, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care was split into the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Long-Term Care.

List of Ministers
Name Term of office Tenure Political party
(Ministry)		 Note
Ministers of Health
Dr. Forbes GodfreyApril 17, 1924September 16, 19306 years, 152 days Conservative
(Ferguson)
John RobbSeptember 16, 1930December 15, 19303 years, 297 days
December 15, 1930July 10, 1934 Conservative
(Henry)
Dr. James FaulknerJuly 10, 1934October 12, 19373 years, 94 days Liberal
(Hepburn)
Harold KirbyOctober 12, 1937October 21, 19425 years, 309 days Concurrently Minister of Public Welfare (October 27, 1942 – May 18, 1943)
October 21, 1942May 18, 1943 Liberal
(Conant)
May 18, 1943August 17, 1943 Liberal
(Nixon)
Dr. Percy VivianAugust 17, 1943January 7, 19462 years, 143 days PC
(Drew)		 Concurrently Minister of Public Welfare
Russell KelleyJanuary 7, 1946October 19, 19484 years, 213 days
October 19, 1948May 4, 1949 PC
(Kennedy)
May 4, 1949August 8, 1950 PC
(Frost)
Dr. Mac PhillipsAugust 8, 1950December 22, 19588 years, 136 days
Dr. Matthew DymondDecember 22, 1958November 8, 196110 years, 234 days
November 8, 1961August 13, 1969 PC
(Robarts)
Tom WellsAugust 13, 1969March 1, 19711 year, 200 days
Albert LawrenceMarch 1, 1971February 2, 1972338 days PC
(Davis)
Dr. Richard PotterFebruary 2, 1972February 26, 19742 years, 24 days
Frank MillerFebruary 26, 1974February 3, 19772 years, 343 days
Dennis TimbrellFebruary 3, 1977February 13, 19825 years, 10 days
Larry GrossmanFebruary 13, 1982July 6, 19831 year, 143 days
Keith NortonJuly 6, 1983February 8, 19851 year, 217 daysIntergovernmental Affairs Minister Tom Wells served as acting minister while Norton was on sick leave (October 11 to December 5, 1983)
Alan PopeFebruary 8, 1985May 17, 198598 days PC
(Miller)
Philip AndrewesMay 17, 1985June 26, 198540 days
Murray ElstonJune 26, 1985September 29, 19872 years, 95 days Liberal
(Peterson)
Elinor CaplanSeptember 29, 1987October 1, 19903 years, 2 daysMother of later minister David Caplan (2008–09)
Evelyn GigantesOctober 1, 1990April 19, 1991200 days NDP
(Rae)		 Resigned after inadvertently revealing the name of a Toronto man who had been sent to the United States for drug treatment that wasn't offered in the province.
Frances LankinApril 22, 1991February 3, 19931 year, 287 days
Ruth GrierFebruary 3, 1993June 26, 19952 years, 143 days
Jim WilsonJune 26, 1995December 9, 19961 year, 166 days
(first instance)		 PC
(Harris)		 Resigned for ministerial responsibility (his aide improperly disclosed confidential health information to a reporter), reinstated after conclusion of investigation.
David JohnsonDecember 9, 1996February 21, 199774 daysInterim Minister, while Chair of the Management Board of Cabinet
Jim WilsonFebruary 21, 1997October 10, 1997231 days
(second instance)
2 years, 32 days in total
Elizabeth WitmerOctober 10, 1997June 17, 19993 years, 120 daysCam Jackson served as Minister of Long-Term Care (July 27, 1998 to June 17, 1999)
Ministers of Health and Long-Term Care
Elizabeth WitmerJune 17, 1999February 7, 2001
Tony ClementFebruary 8, 2001April 15, 20022 years, 256 daysHelen Johns (February 8, 2001 – April 14, 2002) & Dan Newman (April 15, 2002 – October 22, 2003) served as Associate Ministers
April 15, 2002October 22, 2003 PC
(Eves)
George SmithermanOctober 23, 2003June 20, 20084 years, 241 days Liberal
(McGuinty)		 While Deputy Premier (September 22, 2006 - November 9, 2009)
Jim Watson (June 29, 2005 – October 30, 2007) & Margarett Best (October 30, 2007 – October 20, 2011) served as Ministers of Health Promotion
David CaplanJune 20, 2008October 7, 20091 year, 109 daysSon of previous minister Elinor Caplan (1987–90)
Deb MatthewsOctober 7, 2009February 11, 20134 years, 260 daysWhile Deputy Premier (February 11, 2013 - January 17, 2018)
February 11, 2013June 24, 2014 Liberal
(Wynne)
Dr. Eric HoskinsJune 24, 2014February 26, 20183 years, 247 daysDipika Damerla served as Associate Minister (Long-Term Care and Wellness) (June 24, 2014 – June 13, 2016)
Dr. Helena JaczekFebruary 26, 2018June 29, 2018123 daysWhile Chair of Cabinet
Christine ElliottJune 29, 2018June 20, 20193 years, 360 days PC
(Ford)		 While Deputy Premier
Ministers of Health
Christine ElliottJune 20, 2019June 24, 2022 While Deputy Premier
Michael Tibollo as Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, from June 20, 2019 to present and for 3 years, 135 days
Sylvia JonesJune 24, 2022131 days PC
(Ford)		 While Deputy Premier
Michael Tibollo as Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, from June 20, 2019 to present and for 3 years, 135 days

See also

References
  1. Ministry of Health
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