List of lieutenant governors of Ontario facts for kids
The Lieutenant Governor is the King's representative in the Canadian province of Ontario. This special role was created in 1867 when Ontario became a province during Confederation. Before that, a similar role existed for the old colony of Upper Canada.
From 1791 to 1841, the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada was a British official. They were chosen by the British government to lead the colony. Before 1791, the land that is now Ontario was part of the old Province of Quebec. It was managed by the governors of Quebec.
In 1841, Upper Canada and Lower Canada joined together. They formed the new Province of Canada. This new province had one Parliament and one Governor General. Upper Canada became known as Canada West. It did not have its own separate government or Lieutenant Governor. It was just a part of the larger Province of Canada.
Before Canada became a country, the Lieutenant Governors of Upper Canada were British. They were either government leaders or British Army officers. The first Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, General Sir Henry William Stisted, was the last British person to hold this job. After 1868, only Canadians were chosen for the position.
Lieutenant Governors of Upper Canada (1791–1841)
This section lists the people who served as Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada. This was before Ontario became a province.
No. | Portrait | Name (birth–death) |
Time in Office | Monarch Reign |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Started | Ended | ||||
1 | ![]() |
John Graves Simcoe (1752–1806) |
1791 | 1798 | George III (1760–1820) |
– | ![]() |
Peter Russell (1733–1808) Acting Leader |
1796 | 1799 | |
2 | Peter Hunter (1746–1805) |
1799 | 1805 | ||
– | Alexander Grant (1734–1813) Acting Leader |
1805 | 1806 | ||
3 | ![]() |
Francis Gore (1769–1852) |
1806 | 1817 | |
– | ![]() |
Sir Isaac Brock (1769–1812) Acting |
1811 | 1812 | |
– | ![]() |
Sir Roger Hale Sheaffe 1st Baronet (1763–1851) Acting |
1812 | 1813 | |
– | Sir Francis de Rottenburg Baron 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 (1756–1826) Acting Leader |
1817 | 1818 | |
4 | ![]() |
Sir Peregrine Maitland (1777–1854) |
1818 | 1828 | |
George IV (1820–1830) |
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5 | ![]() |
Sir John Colborne (1778–1863) |
1828 | 1836 | |
William IV (1830–1837) |
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6 | ![]() |
Sir Francis Bond Head (1778–1863) |
1836 | 1838 | |
Victoria (1837–1901) |
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7 | ![]() |
Sir George Arthur (1778–1863) |
1838 | 1839 | |
8 | ![]() |
Charles Poulett Thomson 1st Baron Sydenham (1799–1841) |
1839 | 1841 |
Lieutenant Governors of Ontario (1867–Present)
This section lists the people who have served as Lieutenant Governor of Ontario since 1867.
No. | Portrait | Name (birth–death) |
Time in Office | Monarch Reign |
Premier Tenure |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Started | Ended | |||||
1 | ![]() |
Henry William Stisted (1817–1875) |
1 July 1867 |
14 July 1868 |
Victoria (1837–1901) |
John Sandfield Macdonald (1867–1871) |
2 | ![]() |
William Pearce Howland (1811–1907) |
15 July 1868 |
11 November 1873 |
||
Edward Blake (1871–1872) |
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Sir Oliver Mowat (1872–1896) |
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3 | ![]() |
John Willoughby Crawford (1817–1875) |
12 November 1873 |
13 May 1875 |
||
– | ![]() |
Sir William Buell Richards (1815–1889) Acting Leader |
13 May 1875 |
18 May 1875 |
||
4 | ![]() |
Donald Alexander Macdonald (1817–1896) |
18 May 1875 |
30 June 1880 |
||
5 | ![]() |
John Beverley Robinson (1821–1896) |
1 July 1880 |
31 May 1887 |
||
6 | ![]() |
Sir Alexander Campbell (1822–1892) |
1 June 1887 |
24 May 1892 |
||
– | ![]() |
John Hawkins Hagarty (1816–1900) Acting Leader |
24 May 1892 |
30 May 1892 |
||
7 | ![]() |
George Airey Kirkpatrick (1841–1899) |
30 May 1892 |
7 November 1896 |
||
Arthur Sturgis Hardy (1896–1899) |
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– | ![]() |
Sir Casimir Gzowski (1813–1898) Acting Leader |
{7 November 1896 |
18 November 1897 |
||
8 | ![]() |
Sir Oliver Mowat (1820–1903) |
18 November 1897 |
19 April 1903 |
||
Sir George William Ross (1899–1905) |
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Edward VII (1901–1910) |
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– | ![]() |
Sir Charles Moss (1840–1912) Acting Leader |
19 April 1903 |
21 April 1903 |
||
9 | ![]() |
Sir William Mortimer Clark (1836–1915) |
21 April 1903 |
21 September 1908 |
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Sir James Whitney (1905–1914) |
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10 | ![]() |
Sir John Morison Gibson (1842–1929) |
21 September 1908 |
26 September 1914 |
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George V (1910–1936) |
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11 | ![]() |
Sir John Strathearn Hendrie (1857–1923) |
26 September 1914 |
20 November 1919 |
Sir William Howard Hearst (1914–1919) |
|
Ernest Charles Drury (1919–1923) |
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12 | ![]() |
Lionel Herbert Clarke (1859–1921) |
20 November 1919 |
29 August 1921 |
||
– | ![]() |
Sir William Ralph Meredith (1840–1923) Acting Leader |
29 August 1921 |
10 September 1921 |
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13 | ![]() |
Henry Cockshutt (1868–1944) |
10 September 1921 |
12 January 1927 |
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Howard Ferguson (1923–1930) |
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14 | ![]() |
William Donald Ross (1869–1947) |
12 January 1927 |
25 October 1931 |
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George Stewart Henry (1930–1934) |
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– | ![]() |
Sir William Mulock (1843–1944) Acting Leader |
25 October 1931 |
1 November 1932 |
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15 | ![]() |
Herbert Alexander Bruce (1868–1963) |
1 November 1932 |
23 November 1937 |
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Mitchell Hepburn (1934–1942) |
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Edward VIII (1936) |
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George VI (1936–1952) |
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16 | ![]() |
Albert Edward Matthews (1873–1949) |
23 November 1937 |
26 December 1946 |
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Gordon Daniel Conant (1942–1943) |
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Harry Nixon (1943) |
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George A. Drew (1943–1948) |
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17 | ![]() |
Ray Lawson (1886–1980) |
26 December 1946 |
18 February 1952 |
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Thomas Laird Kennedy (1948–1949) |
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Leslie Frost (1949–1961) |
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Elizabeth II (1952–2022) |
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18 | ![]() |
Louis Orville Breithaupt (1890–1960) |
18 February 1952 |
30 December 1957 |
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19 | ![]() |
John Keiller MacKay (1880–1970) |
30 December 1957 |
1 May 1963 |
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John Robarts (1961–1971) |
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20 | ![]() |
William Earl Rowe (1894–1984) |
1 May 1963 |
4 July 1968 |
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21 | ![]() |
William Ross Macdonald (1891–1976) |
4 July 1968 |
10 April 1974 |
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Bill Davis (1971–1985) |
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22 | ![]() |
Pauline Mills McGibbon (1910–2001) |
10 April 1974 |
15 September 1980 |
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23 | ![]() |
John Black Aird (1923–1995) |
15 September 1980 |
20 September 1985 |
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Frank Miller (1985) |
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David Peterson (1985–1990) |
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24 | ![]() |
Lincoln Alexander (1922–2012) |
20 September 1985 |
10 December 1991 |
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Bob Rae (1990–1995) |
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25 | ![]() |
Hal Jackman (born 1932) |
11 December 1991 |
24 January 1997 |
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Mike Harris (1995–2002) |
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26 | ![]() |
Hilary Weston (born 1942) |
24 January 1997 |
7 March 2002 |
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27 | ![]() |
James Bartleman (1939–2023) |
7 March 2002 |
5 September 2007 |
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Ernie Eves (2002–2003) |
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Dalton McGuinty (2003–2013) |
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28 | ![]() |
David Onley (1950–2023) |
5 September 2007 |
23 September 2014 |
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Kathleen Wynne (2013–2018) |
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29 | ![]() |
Elizabeth Dowdeswell (born 1944) |
23 September 2014 |
14 November 2023 |
||
Doug Ford (since 2018) |
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Charles III (since 2022) |
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30 | ![]() |
Edith Dumont (born 1964) |
14 November 2023 |
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Source: |
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