Ministry of Finance (Ontario)

Ministry Of Finance (Ontario)

The Ministry of Finance is a portfolio in the Executive Council of Ontario commonly known as the cabinet. The Finance Minister is responsible for managing the fiscal, financial and related regulatory affairs of the Canadian province of Ontario. The cabinet posted used to be called the Treasurer of Ontario and was changed to be in line with other post in other Canadian provinces.

For most of the period from 1867 until 1993, the minister was called the treasurer or provincial treasurer.

The ministry were renamed the Ministry of Economics in 1956 and the minister became known as Minister in charge of Economics instead of treasurer. From January to December 1961, the ministry became the Ministry of Economics and Federal and Provincial Relations. The title of treasurer was revived in December 1961 with the minister also often holding the secondary title of minister of economics or some variation after 1968. Frank Miller had the sole title of minister of economics from 1978 until 1981 when he was given the additional title of treasuruer. At various times in the 1960s and 1970s the minister also held the titles of chairman of the management board of cabinet, chairman of the treasury board and/or minister of revenue. This practice was revived in recent years with Greg Sorbara acting as finance minister and chair of both the management board and the treasury board.

In 1993, the positions of treasurer and minister of economics were formally combined and renamed the minister of finance.

In early 2007, Premier McGuinty split the province's revenue collection function away from the Ministry of Finance and resurrected the Ministry of Revenue, a ministry/portfolio that had not been used since the NDP government of Bob Rae in 1993. Following the 2011 Ontario general election, the Ministry of Revenue was merged back into the Ministry of Finance.