# Ministry of Health (Ontario)

The Ministry of Health is the Government of Ontario ministry responsible for administering the health care system in the Canadian province of Ontario.
The ministry is responsible to the Ontario Legislature through the minister of health, presently Sylvia Jones since June 24, 2022.

## Services and programs

* Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP)
* Ontario Drug Benefit Program - prescription drug coverage
* Community and public health through Public Health Ontario
* Ontario Health agency
* Health Connect Ontario
The ministry also regulates hospitals, operates some medical laboratories and regulates others, and co-ordinates emergency medical services for the province.
The ministry once operated ambulance services outside of major cities in Ontario, but the services were downloaded to municipalities around 1998.

## History

In the early years of Canadian Confederation, health was still considered primarily a municipal rather than provincial matter. The Public Health Act of 1873 permitted the Lieutenant Governor to establish, by proclamation, a temporary "Central Board of Health" to deal with disease if it reached epidemic proportions. However, no proclamations were ever made, and a Central Board was never established.
The Provincial Board of Health was established on March 10, 1882, and it was charged with overseeing the many local health boards. It also assumed the responsibility of dealing with an epidemic, if one should arise. The board reported to the Lieutenant Governor (1882-1903), to the Provincial Secretary (1904-1918), then to the Department of Labour (1919-1924).
In 1924, the Provincial Board of Health was replaced by the Department of Health. In 1930, the department accepted from the Department of the Provincial Secretary the responsibilities for administering Ontario's psychiatric hospitals and inspecting the province's public and private hospitals. Also in 1930, the Department of Hospitals was established under the direction of the first Minister of Health; that department became a division of the Department of Health in 1934. In 1952, cancer research and the operation of cancer clinics was added to the department's responsibilities. Insured hospital services and insured physicians' services, introduced in 1959 and 1966 respectively, were combined under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) in 1972. The department also had responsibility over areas that are no longer associated with health, such as water and sewage functions (prior to 1957), mental retardation facilities and children's services (transferred to the Ministry of Community and Social Services in 1974), and occupational health (transferred to the Ministry of Labour in 1976).
In 1961, the Royal Commission on Health Services, chaired by Justice Emmett Matthew Hall, was appointed, which served as a catalyst for a major overhaul of the department.
In 1972, the Department of Health was renamed the Ministry of Health in a government-wide restructuring. In 1999, the Ministry of Health was renamed the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. On June 20, 2019, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care was split into the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Long-Term Care.

## List of ministers

| | Name | Term of office | Term of office | Tenure | Political party (Ministry) | Note |
| | Ministers of Health | Ministers of Health | Ministers of Health | | | |
| | Dr. Forbes Godfrey | April 17, 1924 | September 16, 1930 | 6 years, 152 days | Conservative (Ferguson) | |
| | John Robb | September 16, 1930 | December 15, 1930 | 3 years, 297 days | |
| December 15, 1930 | John Robb | July 10, 1934 | Conservative (Henry) | 3 years, 297 days | |
| | Dr. James Faulkner | July 10, 1934 | October 12, 1937 | 3 years, 94 days | Liberal (Hepburn) | |
| | Harold Kirby | October 12, 1937 | October 21, 1942 | 5 years, 309 days | Concurrently Minister of Public Welfare (October 27, 1942 – May 18, 1943) |
| October 21, 1942 | Harold Kirby | May 18, 1943 | Liberal (Conant) | 5 years, 309 days | Concurrently Minister of Public Welfare (October 27, 1942 – May 18, 1943) |
| May 18, 1943 | Harold Kirby | August 17, 1943 | Liberal (Nixon) | 5 years, 309 days | Concurrently Minister of Public Welfare (October 27, 1942 – May 18, 1943) |
| | Dr. Percy Vivian | August 17, 1943 | January 7, 1946 | 2 years, 143 days | PC (Drew) | Concurrently Minister of Public Welfare |
| | Russell Kelley | January 7, 1946 | October 19, 1948 | 4 years, 213 days | |
| October 19, 1948 | Russell Kelley | May 4, 1949 | PC (Kennedy) | 4 years, 213 days | |
| May 4, 1949 | Russell Kelley | August 8, 1950 | PC (Frost) | 4 years, 213 days | |
| | Dr. Mac Phillips | August 8, 1950 | December 22, 1958 | 8 years, 136 days | |
| | Dr. Matthew Dymond | December 22, 1958 | November 8, 1961 | 10 years, 234 days | |
| November 8, 1961 | Dr. Matthew Dymond | August 13, 1969 | PC (Robarts) | 10 years, 234 days | |
| | Tom Wells | August 13, 1969 | March 1, 1971 | 1 year, 200 days | |
| | Albert Lawrence | March 1, 1971 | February 2, 1972 | 338 days | PC (Davis) | |
| | Dr. Richard Potter | February 2, 1972 | February 26, 1974 | 2 years, 24 days | |
| | Frank Miller | February 26, 1974 | February 3, 1977 | 2 years, 343 days | |
| | Dennis Timbrell | February 3, 1977 | February 13, 1982 | 5 years, 10 days | |
| | Larry Grossman | February 13, 1982 | July 6, 1983 | 1 year, 143 days | |
| | Keith Norton | July 6, 1983 | February 8, 1985 | 1 year, 217 days | Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Tom Wells served as acting minister while Norton was on sick leave (October 11 to December 5, 1983) |
| | Alan Pope | February 8, 1985 | May 17, 1985 | 98 days | PC (Miller) | |
| | Philip Andrewes | May 17, 1985 | June 26, 1985 | 40 days | |
| | Murray Elston | June 26, 1985 | September 29, 1987 | 2 years, 95 days | Liberal (Peterson) | |
| | Elinor Caplan | September 29, 1987 | October 1, 1990 | 3 years, 2 days | Mother of later minister David Caplan (2008–09) |
| | Evelyn Gigantes | October 1, 1990 | April 19, 1991 | 200 days | NDP (Rae) | Resigned after inadvertently revealing the name of a Toronto man who had been sent to the United States for drug treatment that wasn't offered in the province. |
| | Frances Lankin | April 22, 1991 | February 3, 1993 | 1 year, 287 days | NDP (Rae) | |
| | Ruth Grier | February 3, 1993 | June 26, 1995 | 2 years, 143 days | NDP (Rae) | |
| | Jim Wilson | June 26, 1995 | December 9, 1996 | 1 year, 166 days (first instance) | PC (Harris) | Resigned for ministerial responsibility (his aide improperly disclosed confidential health information to a reporter), reinstated after conclusion of investigation. |
| | David Johnson | December 9, 1996 | February 21, 1997 | 74 days | PC (Harris) | Interim Minister, while Chair of the Management Board of Cabinet |
| | Jim Wilson | February 21, 1997 | October 10, 1997 | 231 days (second instance) 2 years, 32 days in total | PC (Harris) | |
| | Elizabeth Witmer | October 10, 1997 | June 17, 1999 | 3 years, 120 days | PC (Harris) | Cam Jackson served as Minister of Long-Term Care (July 27, 1998 to June 17, 1999) |
| | Ministers of Health and Long-Term Care | Ministers of Health and Long-Term Care | Ministers of Health and Long-Term Care | 3 years, 120 days | PC (Harris) | |
| | Elizabeth Witmer | June 17, 1999 | February 7, 2001 | 3 years, 120 days | PC (Harris) | |
| | Tony Clement | February 8, 2001 | April 15, 2002 | 2 years, 256 days | PC (Harris) | Helen Johns (February 8, 2001 – April 14, 2002) & Dan Newman (April 15, 2002 – October 22, 2003) served as Associate Ministers |
| April 15, 2002 | Tony Clement | October 22, 2003 | PC (Eves) | 2 years, 256 days | |
| | George Smitherman | October 23, 2003 | June 20, 2008 | 4 years, 241 days | Liberal (McGuinty) | While Deputy Premier (September 22, 2006 - November 9, 2009) Jim Watson (June 29, 2005 – October 30, 2007) & Margarett Best (October 30, 2007 – October 20, 2011) served as Ministers of Health Promotion |
| | David Caplan | June 20, 2008 | October 7, 2009 | 1 year, 109 days | Son of previous minister Elinor Caplan (1987–90) |
| | Deb Matthews | October 7, 2009 | February 11, 2013 | 4 years, 260 days | While Deputy Premier (February 11, 2013 - January 17, 2018) |
| February 11, 2013 | Deb Matthews | June 24, 2014 | Liberal (Wynne) | 4 years, 260 days | While Deputy Premier (February 11, 2013 - January 17, 2018) |
| | Dr. Eric Hoskins | June 24, 2014 | February 26, 2018 | 3 years, 247 days | Dipika Damerla served as Associate Minister (Long-Term Care and Wellness) (June 24, 2014 – June 13, 2016) |
| | Dr. Helena Jaczek | February 26, 2018 | June 29, 2018 | 123 days | While Chair of Cabinet |
| | Christine Elliott | June 29, 2018 | June 20, 2019 | 3 years, 360 days | PC (Ford) | While Deputy Premier |
| | Ministers of Health | Ministers of Health | Ministers of Health | 3 years, 360 days | |
| | Christine Elliott | June 20, 2019 | June 24, 2022 | 3 years, 360 days | Elliott is Deputy Premier; Michael Tibollo is Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, from June 20, 2019 to present and for 5 years, 249 days |
| | Sylvia Jones | June 24, 2022 | | 2 years, 245 days | PC (Ford) | Jones is Deputy Premier; Michael Tibollo is Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, from June 20, 2019 to present and for 5 years, 249 days |