Ministry of Labour (Ontario)

The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development is responsible for labour issues in the Canadian province of Ontario.

The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development and its agencies are responsible for employment equity and rights, occupational health and safety, labour relations, and supporting apprenticeships, the skilled trades, and industry training. The ministry's three program responsibilities are delivered from a head office in Toronto and 19 offices organized around four regions, centred in Ottawa, Hamilton, Sudbury and Toronto. As well, the ministry oversees the work of eight specialized agencies.

The current minister of labour, immigration, training and skills development is David Piccini.

The Province entered the field in 1882 with the creation of the Bureau of Industries, which was attached to the Department of the Commissioner of Agriculture.^[1] In 1900, it was transferred to the Department of the Commissioner of Public Works and renamed as the Bureau of Labour,^[2] which subsequently became the Trades and Labour Branch in 1916.^[3]

In 1919, the Conservative government of William Howard Hearst secured passage of an Act to raise the Branch into a Cabinet-level department to be known as the Department of Labour.^[4] Finlay MacDiarmid, the Minister of Public Works, was appointed the first Minister of Labour as well, but the first full-time minister was Walter Rollo of the Independent Labour Party in the government of E.C. Drury that took office after the Conservative defeat in the 1919 general election.

In 1972, as part of a general reorganization of departments initiated by the government of Bill Davis, the department was renamed the Ministry of Labour.^[5]

In 2019, the Ministry of Labour changed its name to Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development to reflect its expanding mandate of training, apprenticeships and Employment Ontario.^[6][7]

Following the 2022 provincial election, the ministry was renamed to Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.^[8]

Minister of Labour

• Walter Rollo, 1919–1923
• Forbes Elliott Godfrey, 1923–1930
• Joseph Dunsmore Monteith, 1930–1934
• John Morrow Robb, 1934 (January–July)
• Mitchell Frederick Hepburn, 1937 (April–October)
• Norman Otto Hipel, 1938–1941
• Charles Daley, 1943–1961
• Bill Warrender, 1961–1962
• Leslie Rowntree, 1962–1966
• Dalton Bales, 1966–1971
• Gordon Carton, 1971–1972
• Fernand Guindon, 1972–1974
• John Palmer MacBeth, 1974–1975
• Bette Stephenson, 1975–1978
• Robert Elgie, 1978–1982
• Russ Ramsay, 1982–1985
• Robert Elgie, 1985 (May–June)
• Bill Wrye, 1985–1989
• Greg Sorbara, 1987–1989
• Gerry Phillips, 1989–1990
• Bob Mackenzie, 1990–1994
• Shirley Coppen, 1994–1995
• Elizabeth Witmer, 1995–1997
• Jim Flaherty, 1997–1999
• Chris Stockwell, 1999–2002
• Brad Clark, 2002–2003
• Chris Bentley, October 23, 2003 – June 29, 2005
• Steve Peters, June 29, 2005 – October 30, 2007
• Brad Duguid, October 30, 2007 – September 18, 2008
• Peter Fonseca, September 18, 2008 – December 16, 2010
• Charles Sousa, December 16, 2010 – October 20, 2011
• Linda Jeffrey, October 20, 2011 – February 11, 2013
• Yasir Naqvi, 2013–2014
• Kevin Flynn, 2014–2018
• Laurie Scott, 2018-2019
• Monte McNaughton, 2019

Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development

• Monte McNaughton, 2019–2022

Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development

• Monte McNaughton, 2022-2023
• David Piccini, 2023-present

• Official website