List of lieutenant governors of Ontario

The following is a list of lieutenant governors of Ontario and the lieutenant governors of the former colony of Upper Canada. The office of Lieutenant Governor of Ontario was created in 1867, when the Province of Ontario was created upon Confederation.^[1] The predecessor office, lieutenant governor of Upper Canada, was a British colonial officer, appointed by the British government to administer the government of the colony, from 1791 to 1841. (Prior to 1791, the territory which is now Ontario was part of the old Province of Quebec, which was administered by the colonial governors of the Province of Quebec.)

In 1841, the two provinces of Upper Canada and Lower Canada were abolished and merged into the new Province of Canada, with a single Parliament and Governor General. Upper Canada was known as Canada West, but did not have a separate government or lieutenant governor. It was simply an administrative division of the Province of Canada.

Prior to Confederation, the lieutenant governors of Upper Canada were either British colonial administrators or British Army officers. The first lieutenant governor of Ontario, General Sir Henry William Stisted, was the last British lieutenant governor. From 1868 onwards, only Canadians were appointed to the position.

Lieutenant governors of Upper Canada, 1791–1841

No.	Portrait	Name(birth–death)	Term of office		MonarchReign
			Took office	Left office
1		John Graves Simcoe[2](1752–1806)	1791	1798	George III(1760–1820)
–		Peter Russell[3](1733–1808)Administrator of the Government	1796	1799
2		Peter Hunter[4](1746–1805)	1799	1805
–		Alexander Grant[5](1734–1813)Administrator of the Government	1805	1806
3		Francis Gore[6](1769–1852)	1806	1817
–		Sir Isaac Brock(1769–1812)Acting	1811	1812
–		Sir Roger Hale Sheaffe1st Baronet(1763–1851)Acting	1812	1813
–		Sir Francis de RottenburgBaron of Rottenburg(1757–1832)Acting	1813	1813
–		Sir Gordon Drummond(1772–1854)Acting	1813	1814
–		Sir George Murray(1772–1846)Acting	1815	1815
–		Sir Frederick Philipse Robinson(1763–1852)Acting	1815	1815
–		Samuel Smith[7](1756–1826)Administrator of the Government	1817	1818
4		Sir Peregrine Maitland[8](1777–1854)	1818	1828
					George IV(1820–1830)
5		Sir John Colborne[9](1778–1863)	1828	1836
					William IV(1830–1837)
6		Sir Francis Bond Head[10](1778–1863)	1836	1838
					Victoria(1837–1901)
7		Sir George Arthur[11](1778–1863)	1838	1839
8		Charles Poulett Thomson1st Baron Sydenham[12](1799–1841)	1839	1841

Lieutenant governors of Ontario, 1867–present

No.	Portrait	Name(birth–death)	Term of office		MonarchReign	PremierTenure
			Took office	Left office
1		Henry William Stisted(1817–1875)	1 July1867	14 July1868	Victoria(1837–1901)	John Sandfield Macdonald(1867–1871)
2		William Pearce Howland(1811–1907)	15 July1868	11 November1873
						Edward Blake(1871–1872)
						Sir Oliver Mowat(1872–1896)
3		John Willoughby Crawford(1817–1875)	12 November1873	13 May1875
–		Sir William Buell Richards(1815–1889)Administrator of the Government	13 May1875	18 May1875
4		Donald Alexander Macdonald(1817–1896)	18 May1875	30 June1880
5		John Beverley Robinson(1821–1896)	1 July1880	31 May1887
6		Sir Alexander Campbell(1822–1892)	1 June1887	24 May1892
–		John Hawkins Hagarty(1816–1900)Administrator of the Government	24 May1892	30 May1892
7		George Airey Kirkpatrick(1841–1899)	30 May1892	7 November1896
						Arthur Sturgis Hardy(1896–1899)
–		Sir Casimir Gzowski(1813–1898)Administrator of the Government	{7 November1896	18 November1897
8		Sir Oliver Mowat(1820–1903)	18 November1897	19 April1903
						Sir George William Ross(1899–1905)
					Edward VII(1901–1910)
–		Sir Charles Moss(1840–1912)Administrator of the Government	19 April1903	21 April1903
9		Sir William Mortimer Clark(1836–1915)	21 April1903	21 September1908
						Sir James Whitney(1905–1914)
10		Sir John Morison Gibson(1842–1929)	21 September1908	26 September1914
					George V(1910–1936)
11		Sir John Strathearn Hendrie(1857–1923)	26 September1914	20 November1919		Sir William Howard Hearst(1914–1919)
						Ernest Charles Drury(1919–1923)
12		Lionel Herbert Clarke(1859–1921)	20 November1919	29 August1921
–		Sir William Ralph Meredith(1840–1923)Administrator of the Government	29 August1921	10 September1921
13		Henry Cockshutt(1868–1944)	10 September1921	12 January1927
						Howard Ferguson(1923–1930)
14		William Donald Ross(1869–1947)	12 January1927	25 October1931
						George Stewart Henry(1930–1934)
–		Sir William Mulock(1843–1944)Administrator of the Government	25 October1931	1 November1932
15		Herbert Alexander Bruce(1868–1963)	1 November1932	23 November1937
						Mitchell Hepburn(1934–1942)
					Edward VIII(1936)
					George VI(1936–1952)
16		Albert Edward Matthews(1873–1949)	23 November1937	26 December1946
						Gordon Daniel Conant(1942–1943)
						Harry Nixon(1943)
						George A. Drew(1943–1948)
17		Ray Lawson(1886–1980)	26 December1946	18 February1952
						Thomas Laird Kennedy(1948–1949)
						Leslie Frost(1949–1961)
					Elizabeth II(1952–2022)
18		Louis Orville Breithaupt(1890–1960)	18 February1952	30 December1957
19		John Keiller MacKay(1880–1970)	30 December1957	1 May1963
						John Robarts(1961–1971)
20		William Earl Rowe(1894–1984)	1 May1963	4 July1968
21		William Ross Macdonald(1891–1976)	4 July1968	10 April1974
						Bill Davis(1971–1985)
22		Pauline Mills McGibbon(1910–2001)	10 April1974	15 September1980
23		John Black Aird(1923–1995)	15 September1980	20 September1985
						Frank Miller(1985)
						David Peterson(1985–1990)
24		Lincoln Alexander(1922–2012)	20 September1985	10 December1991
						Bob Rae(1990–1995)
25		Hal Jackman(born 1932)	11 December1991	24 January1997
						Mike Harris(1995–2002)
26		Hilary Weston(1942–2025)	24 January1997	7 March2002
27		James Bartleman(1939–2023)	7 March2002	5 September2007
						Ernie Eves(2002–2003)
						Dalton McGuinty(2003–2013)
28		David Onley(1950–2023)	5 September2007	23 September2014
						Kathleen Wynne(2013–2018)
29		Elizabeth Dowdeswell(born 1944)	23 September2014	14 November2023
						Doug Ford(since 2018)
					Charles III(since 2022)
30		Edith Dumont(born 1964)	14 November2023
Source:[13][14]

See also

• Office-holders of Canada
• Canadian incumbents by year

References

1. Constitution Act, 1867, s. 58.
2. R. Mealing, Stanley (1 February 2017). "John Graves Simcoe". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
3. Firth, Edith G. (2003). "Biography - RUSSEL, PETER - Volume V". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
4. "Biography - HUNTER, PETER". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. 2003. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
5. Whitfield, Carol (2003). "Biography - GRANT, ALEXANDER". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
6. Mealing, S. R. (2003). "GORE, FRANCIS". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
7. Mealing, S. R. (2003). "Smith, Samuel". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
8. Bowsfield, Hartwell (2003). "MAITLAND, Sir PEREGRINE". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
9. Wilson, Alan (2003). "COLBORNE, JOHN". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
10. Wise, S.F. (2003). "Head, Sir Francis Bond". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
11. Buckner, Philip (2003). "ARTHUR, GEORGE". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
12. "THOMSON, CHARLES EDWARD POULETT". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. 2003. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
13. "History - Lieutenant Governor Of Ontario". Lieutenant governor of ontario. 2020.
14. "Educator Edith Dumont appointed lieutenant-governor for Ontario". www.chch.com. The Canadian Press. 3 August 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.

External links

• Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. "History > Vice-Regal Representatives". Queen's Printer for Ontario. Archived from the original on 12 August 2009.