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Ministry of Education
Ministère de l'Éducation (French)
Ministry overview
Formed	1876 (as Department of Education); 1999 (in current form)
Preceding agencies	Department of Public Instruction (1850–1876); Ministry of Education and Training (1993–1999);
Jurisdiction	Government of Ontario
Headquarters	Mowat Block, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; 43°39′48.11″N 79°23′15.5″W / 43.6633639°N 79.387639°W
Employees	1,700+
Annual budget	$34.5 billion (2022–2023 fiscal year)
Minister responsible	Jill Dunlop, Minister of Education;
Website	www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/

The Ministry of Education is the ministry of the Government of Ontario responsible for government policy, funding, curriculum planning and direction in all levels of public education, including elementary and secondary schools.

The ministry is responsible for curriculum and guidelines for all officially recognized elementary and secondary schools in the province and some outside the province. The ministry is also responsible for public and separate school boards across Ontario, but are not involved in the day-to-day operations.

The current minister of education is Jill Dunlop. A number of ministers of education have gone on to become premier of Ontario, including Arthur Sturgis Hardy, George Ross, George Drew, John Robarts, Bill Davis, and Kathleen Wynne.

History

Prior to Confederation, the supervision of the education system and the development of education policy of Canada West were the responsibilities of the Department of Public Instruction. Founded in 1850, the department was headed by the chief superintendent of education, Egerton Ryerson, and reported to the Executive Council and the Legislative Assembly

In February 1876, the Department of Public Instruction was replaced by the Department of Education. The new department was presided over by the minister of education who was assigned the powers formerly held by the chief superintendent of education.

Responsibilities for post-secondary education were part of the department's portfolio prior to 1964 when the Department of University Affairs was created. The Department of Education continued to be responsible for post-secondary education in applied arts and technology until 1971 when the responsibility was transferred to the renamed Department of Colleges and Universities.

In 1972, the Department of Education was renamed the Ministry of Education. The ministry again oversaw post-secondary education between 1993 and 1999.

Reports

Hall-Dennis Report, 1968

The Hall-Dennis Report, officially titled Living and Learning, called for broad reforms to Ontario education, to empower teachers and the larger community, and put students' needs and dignity at the centre of education.^[3]

Fullan Report, 2013

The Fullan Report, officially titled Great to Excellent, calls for a focus on the 6 C's: Character, Citizenship, Communication, Critical thinking and problem solving, Collaboration and teamwork, and Creativity and imagination. The report also calls for innovation in how these areas are learned.^[4]

List of ministers of education

	Name	Term of office		Tenure	Political party (Ministry)	Note
	Adam Crooks	February 19, 1876	November 23, 1883	7 years, 277 days	Liberal (Mowat)
	George Ross	November 23, 1883	July 21, 1896	15 years, 332 days
July 21, 1896	George Ross	October 21, 1899	Liberal (Hardy)	15 years, 332 days
	Richard Harcourt	October 21, 1899	February 8, 1905	5 years, 110 days	Liberal (Ross)
	Robert Pyne	February 8, 1905	September 25, 1914	13 years, 104 days	Conservative (Whitney)
September 25, 1914	Robert Pyne	May 23, 1918	Conservative (Hearst)	13 years, 104 days
	Henry John Cody	May 23, 1918	November 14, 1919	1 year, 175 days
	Robert Grant	November 14, 1919	November 16, 1923	4 years, 2 days	United Farmers (Drury)
	Howard Ferguson	July 16, 1923	December 15, 1930	7 years, 152 days	Conservative (Ferguson)	While Premier
	George Henry	December 15, 1930	July 10, 1934	3 years, 207 days	Conservative (Henry)	While Premier
	Leonard Simpson	July 10, 1934	August 18, 1940	6 years, 39 days	Liberal (Hepburn)
	Duncan McArthur	August 22, 1940	October 21, 1942	8 years, 58 days
October 21, 1942		May 18, 1943	Liberal (Conant)
May 18, 1943		July 20, 1943	Liberal (Nixon)
	George Drew	August 17, 1943	October 19, 1948	5 years, 63 days	PC (Drew)	While Premier
	Dana Porter	October 19, 1948	May 4, 1949	2 years, 348 days	PC (Kennedy)
May 4, 1949	Dana Porter	October 2, 1951	PC (Frost)	2 years, 348 days
	William Dunlop	October 2, 1951	December 17, 1959	8 years, 76 days
	John Robarts	December 17, 1959	November 8, 1961	2 years, 312 days
November 8, 1961	John Robarts	October 25, 1962	PC (Robarts)	2 years, 312 days	While Premier
	Bill Davis	October 25, 1962	March 1, 1971	8 years, 127 days	Concurrently Minister of College and Universities after May 14, 1964
	Robert Welch	March 1, 1971	February 2, 1972	338 days	PC (Davis)	While Provincial Secretary of Social Development
	Thomas Wells	February 2, 1972	August 18, 1978	6 years, 197 days
	Bette Stephenson	August 18, 1978	February 8, 1985	6 years, 174 days	Concurrently Minister of Colleges and Universities
	Keith Norton	February 8, 1985	May 17, 1985	98 days	PC (Miller)	Concurrently Minister of Colleges and Universities & Provincial Secretary of Social Development
	Larry Grossman	May 17, 1985	June 26, 1985	40 days	Concurrently Minister of Colleges and Universities
	Sean Conway	June 26, 1985	September 29, 1987	2 years, 95 days (first instance)	Liberal (Peterson)
	Christopher Ward	September 29, 1987	August 2, 1989	1 year, 307 days
	Sean Conway	August 2, 1989	October 1, 1990	1 year, 60 days (second instance) 3 year, 155 days in total	Concurrently Minister of Colleges and Universities & Minister of Skills Development
	Marion Boyd	October 1, 1990	October 15, 1991	1 year, 14 days	NDP (Rae)
	Tony Silipo	October 15, 1991	February 3, 1993	1 year, 111 days
Minister of Education and Training
	Dave Cooke	February 3, 1993	June 26, 1995	2 years, 143 days		For this period, there is no Minister of Colleges and Universities; Ministry of Education is responsible for all post secondary education, including skills training.
	John Snobelen	June 26, 1995	October 10, 1997	2 years, 106 days	PC (Harris)
	David Johnson	October 10, 1997	June 17, 1999	1 year, 250 days
Minister of Education
	Janet Ecker	June 17, 1999	April 14, 2002	2 years, 301 days
	Elizabeth Witmer	April 15, 2002	October 22, 2003	1 year, 190 days	PC (Eves)
	Gerard Kennedy	October 23, 2003	April 5, 2006	2 years, 164 days	Liberal (McGuinty)
	Sandra Pupatello	April 5, 2006	September 18, 2006	166 days
	Kathleen Wynne	September 18, 2006	January 18, 2010	3 years, 122 days
	Leona Dombrowsky	January 18, 2010	October 20, 2011	1 year, 275 days
	Laurel Broten	October 20, 2011	February 11, 2013	1 year, 114 days
	Liz Sandals	February 11, 2013	June 13, 2016	3 years, 123 days	Liberal (Wynne)
	Mitzie Hunter	June 13, 2016	January 17, 2018	1 year, 218 days	Indira Naidoo-Harris served as Associate Minister of Education (Early Years and Child Care) from August 24, 2016 to January 17, 2017.
	Indira Naidoo-Harris	January 17, 2018	June 29, 2018	163 days
	Lisa Thompson	June 29, 2018	June 20, 2019	356 days	PC (Ford)
	Stephen Lecce	June 20, 2019	June 6, 2024	4 years, 352 days
	Todd Smith	June 6, 2024	August 16, 2024	71 days
	Jill Dunlop	August 16, 2024	present	138 days

Approach to discipline

Ontario public schools use progressive discipline. Discipline is corrective and supportive rather than punitive, with a focus on prevention and early intervention. It is a whole-school, systemic approach, engaging students, families and the larger community, as well as classes, schools and boards. Schools are to recognize and respect the diversity of parent communities, and partner with them accordingly. Students are surveyed at least every two years about their experience of the school climate.^[5]^[6]

"For students with special education needs, interventions, supports, and consequences must be consistent with the student’s strengths and needs".^[7]

While the school principal is responsible for discipline, all board employees who come into contact with students are responsible for stepping in if inappropriate behaviour occurs. The principal may also delegate powers and duties related to discipline.^[8]

Ministry agencies

^[9]

Association Des Enseignants Franco-Ontariens (AEFO) Employee Life and Health Trust
Council of the College of Early Childhood Educators
Council of The Ontario College of Teachers
Cupe Education Workers' Benefits Trust
Education Quality and Accountability Office
Education Relations Commission
Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO) Employee Life and Health Trust
Languages of Instruction Commission of Ontario
Ministers' Advisory Council On Special Education
Ontario Educational Communications Authority (TVO)
Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association (OECTA) Employee Life and Health Trust
TFO
Ontario Non-Union Teachers' Trust
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board
OSSTF Employee Life and Health Trust
Provincial Schools Authority