Mowat ministry

The Mowat ministry was the cabinet of the Government of Ontario (formally the Executive Council of Ontario) from October 25, 1872, to July 21, 1896. It was led by its namesake Sir Oliver Mowat, the longest serving Premier of Ontario and the most electorally successful leader of the Ontario Liberal Party. With tenures of close to twenty-four years, Mowat and his ministry remain the premier and the ministry with the greatest longevity in Ontario's history, nearly ten years longer than the second longest ministry Davis ministry.

The ministry was made up of members of the Ontario Liberal Party. In inherited its governing mandate from its predecessor Blake ministry in the during Ontario's second parliament following the resignation of Premier Edward Blake, who departed to contest the 1872 dominion election (as federal elections were known then) as the Liberals' informal national party leader. The ministry secured its own electoral mandate in six subsequent elections between 1875 and 1894, obtaining majority of the seats in Ontario's third through eighth parliaments. During the 1896 dominion election, Mowat lend his prestige as Ontario premier for close to a quarter century to the national Liberal leader Wilfrid Laurier and devoted himself fully to campaign under the slogan "Laurier, Mowat and Victory". The ministry ended when Mowat resigned to become Minister of Justice in the Laurier ministry. Mowat's mantle was succeeded by Arthur Sturgis Hardy, a member of the ministry for nineteen of its twenty-four years.

As Premier Edward Blake was contemplating his departure in the summer of 1872, Mowat was neither a member of the legislative assembly nor a member of the predecessor Blake ministry, but was at the time the Vice-Chancellor of the Court of Chancery. He was however no stranger to Liberal politics, having been a key lieutenant of George Brown, the leader of the Liberal Party before Canadian Confederation, and a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada between 1858 and 1864. He served as Postmaster General, a cabinet post, in the short-lived Liberal ministry led by George Brown in 1858, in the Liberal ministry led by John Sandfield Macdonald between May 1963 and March 1964, and in the early days of the Great Coalition from June to November 1864. He also had an instrumental role in working out the division of powers between the federal and provincial governments at the 1864 Quebec Conference.^[1]

With the imminent departure of not only Blake but also the provincial treasurer, the future prime minister Alexander Mackenzie, and at the urging of his mentor Brown, Mowat resigned his judicial post and became premier and attorney general of Ontario. The controversial move was deprecated by his political opponents and Mowat responded with a constitutional justification: “Her Majesty has a right to call to her Council any of her subjects, whether he happens to hold a judicial or any other office” and likewise used constitutional forms to avoid any personal explanation for his decision.^[2]

Mowat's initial cabinet consist of only five members, conforming to the five offices prescribed by section 63 of the British North America Act, 1867.^[3] Of the six members of the outgoing Blake ministry, provincial secretary Peter Gow departed for health reasons in addition to Blake and treasurer Mackenzie. Commissioner of Agriculture and Public Works Archibald McKellar and Commissioner of Crown Lands Richard Scott continued in their roles while Adam Crooks assumed the role of Treasurer. The were joined by Timothy Pardee as Provincial Secretary in addition to Mowat, who doubled duty as Attorney General for the entire duration of the ministry.

Cabinet expanded from five to seven members on a permanent basis over Oliver Mowat's 24-year premiership. A sixth department was created in 1874 when public works was split from agriculture.

In 1876 upon the retirement of Rev. Dr. Egerton Ryerson, the long time non-partisan civil servant who served as Chief Superintendent of Schools for Upper Canada and then Ontario for a total of 32 years, education was formally made a ministerial portfolio. The size of cabinet however remained at six for another 12 years. The education portfolio was initially held concurrently by Treasurer Adam Crooks, who served as vice-chancellor of the University of Toronto prior to his election.

While Crook was relieved of the treasury portfolio in 1877 to focus on education matters, subsequent treasurers instead concurrently held the agriculture portfolio, then responsible for a wide range of economic matters. Cabinet was finally expanded to seven members in 1888 with the entrant Charles Drury as Commissioner of Agriculture, who's son will a few decades later head a ministry of a rival party.

• Romney, Paul (1994). "Mowat, Sir Oliver". In Cook, Ramsay; Hamelin, Jean (eds.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. XIII (1901–1910) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.