Misplaced Pages

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Miller ministry" Ontario – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (November 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Miller ministry
19th ministry of Ontario
Date formed	February 8, 1985 (1985-02-08)
Date dissolved	June 26, 1985 (1985-06-26)
People and organisations
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Lieutenant Governor	John Black Aird (1985)
Premier	Frank Miller
Deputy Premier	Bob Welch (February 8, 1985-May 17, 1985) Bette Stephenson (May 17, 1985-June 26, 1985)
Member party	PC Party
Status in legislature	Majority (February 8, 1985-May 2, 1985) Minority (May 2, 1985-June 26, 1985)
Opposition party	Liberal Party
Opposition leader	David Peterson (1985)
History
Election	1985
Legislature term	32nd Parliament of Ontario 33rd Parliament of Ontario
Incoming formation	1985 PC leadership convention
Outgoing formation	resignation of Miller
Predecessor	Davis ministry
Successor	Peterson ministry

The Miller ministry was the combined cabinet (formally the Executive Council of Ontario) that governed Ontario from February 8, 1985, to June 26, 1985. It was led by the 19th Premier of Ontario, Frank Miller. The ministry was made up of members of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, which commanded a first a majority and then a minority in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

The ministry replaced the Davis ministry following the resignation of Premier Bill Davis and the 1985 PC leadership convention. The Miller ministry governed through the last few months of the 32nd Parliament of Ontario and the first few weeks of the 33rd Parliament of Ontario.

After the 1985 Ontario general election, Miller won a plurality of seats but failed to retain the confidence of the Ontario Legislative Assembly. Miller resigned, and was succeeded as Premier of Ontario by David Peterson.

The First Miller Ministry

Premier Miller began with 33 cabinet members serving in 28 (soon to be 29) portfolios. This was the largest cabinet in Ontario's history; Miller also carried an unprecedented seven ministers without portfolios.

23 of the cabinet members had previous ministry experience. Two of these established cabinet ministers had competed with Miller for leadership of the PC Party only weeks previously: Larry Grossman (appointed Treasurer and Minister of Economics), and Dennis Timbrell (appointed Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing). Also among the experienced cabinet members were Premier Miller himself, Bette Stephenson (appointed Chair of Management Board of Cabinet), and Bob Welch (appointed Deputy Premier and Attorney General).

Among the ten newly appointed cabinet ministers were future Premiers Mike Harris (appointed Minister of Natural Resources} and Ernie Eves (appointed Provincial Secretary for Resource Development and, on March 22, 1985, to the newly created portfolio of Ministry of Skills Development).

By the time the election occurred, three cabinet members would be serving in two portfolios: Miller (Premier and Intergovernmental Affairs), Eves (Provincial Secretary for Resource Development and Minister of Skills Development), as well as Keith Norton (Minister of Education and Minister of Colleges and Universities).

The First Miller ministry lasted 98 days.

The Second Miller Ministry

After the May 2, 1985 election, the PC Party saw its majority vanish, at they plummeted from 70 to 52 seats, still a plurality in the Legislative Assmbly, but eleven shy of a majority. Eight cabinet ministers would lose their seats, while veteran cabinet members Bob Welch and James Snow did not contest their seats, thus creating ten vacancies.

This election marked a significant turning point in Ontario politics as the Tories would see their political base move out of Toronto and into the rural areas of Ontario over the next several elections. Four of the eight lost seats were situated in Metro Toronto, and the PC party saw their share of Toronto representation drop from 18 of 29 seats to a mere 10 of 29.

Miller signaled a recognition of this shifting political base in the way he filled the vacancies. He did not add a single new Toronto MPP to his cabinet, but selected three MPPs from the previously neglected Peel, York, and Durham regions that surround Metro Toronto: before the election they only had Ashe and Gregory, but after they added to those two Cousens, Cureatz, and Stevenson.

Ultimately, Miller would assemble a cabinet of 28 members on May 17, 1985, to fill 29 portfolios. He would carry four MWPs; Grossman would cover three portfolios while Harris, Timbrell and Pope would each cover two.

The Second Miller Ministry would last 40 days.

List of ministers

Notes

1. ministries before and after Miller called this position "Treasurer and Minister of Economics," but Miller did not.
2. renamed "Ministry of Skills Development March 22, 1985.

References

1. "Frank Stuart Miller | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". October 21, 1971.
2. "Robert Stanley Welch | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". September 25, 1963.
3. "Bette M. Stephenson | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". September 18, 1975.
4. "Claude Frederick Bennett | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". www.ola.org. October 21, 1971.
5. "Lawrence "Larry" Sheldon Grossman | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". September 18, 1975.
6. "Alan M. Robinson | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". March 19, 1981.
7. "Robert C. Mitchell | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". November 20, 1980.
8. "Elinor Caplan". jwa.org. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
9. "George Lyle Ashe | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". June 9, 1977.
10. "Philip W. Andrewes | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". March 19, 1981.
11. "Kenneth Ross Stevenson | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". March 19, 1981.
12. "Alan William Pope | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". June 9, 1977.
13. "Legislators and legislatures of Ontario : A reference guide". 1984.
14. "Nicholas Georges Leluk | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". October 21, 1971.
15. "Keith Calder Norton | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". September 18, 1975.
16. "Robert Goldwin Elgie | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". June 9, 1977.
17. "Ernie Eves | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". May 2, 2002.
18. "Gordon Wayne Walker | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". October 21, 1971.
19. "Robert W. Runciman | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". March 19, 1981.
20. "W. Donald Cousens | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". March 19, 1981.
21. "Michael Harris | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". March 19, 1981.
22. "Morley Kells | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". June 8, 1995.
23. "Susan A. Fish | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". March 19, 1981.
24. "James K. Gordon | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". March 19, 1981.
25. "Legislators and legislatures of Ontario : A reference guide". 1984.
26. "Reuben Conrad Baetz | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". June 9, 1977.
27. "Andrew S. Brandt | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". March 19, 1981.
28. "Dennis Roy Timbrell | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". October 21, 1971.
29. "Leo Edward Bernier | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". September 22, 1966.
30. "Gordon Howlett Dean | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". March 19, 1981.
31. "George R. McCague | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". September 18, 1975.
32. "Philip Andrew Gillies | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". March 19, 1981.
33. "Alan William Pope | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". June 9, 1977.
34. "Alan M. Robinson | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". March 19, 1981.
35. "David Rotenberg | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". June 9, 1977.
36. "James Wilfred Snow | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". October 17, 1967.
37. "Sammy Lawrence Cureatz | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". June 9, 1977.
38. "Noble Villeneuve | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". December 15, 1983.
39. "Allan Kenneth McLean | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". March 19, 1981.
40. "John Reesor Williams | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". September 18, 1975.
41. "Milton Edward Charles Gregory | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". September 18, 1975.

• Executive Council of Ontario
• Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
• Ministries of Elizabeth II
• 1985 establishments in Ontario
• 1985 disestablishments in Ontario
• Cabinets established in 1985
• Cabinets disestablished in 1985