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Miller ministry (Ontario)
Cabinet of Ontario, 1985 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Miller ministry was the combined cabinet (formally the Executive Council of Ontario) that governed Ontario from February 8, 1985, to June 26, 1985. It was led by the 19th premier of Ontario, Frank Miller. The ministry was made up of members of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, which commanded a first a majority and then a minority in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
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The ministry replaced the Davis ministry following the resignation of Premier Bill Davis and the 1985 PC leadership convention. The Miller ministry governed through the last few months of the 32nd Parliament of Ontario and the first few weeks of the 33rd Parliament of Ontario.
After the 1985 Ontario general election, Miller won a plurality of seats but failed to retain the confidence of the Ontario Legislative Assembly. Miller resigned, and was succeeded as Premier of Ontario by David Peterson.
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First Miller ministry
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Miller began with 33 cabinet members serving in 28 (soon to be 29) portfolios. This was the largest cabinet in Ontario's history; Miller also carried an unprecedented seven ministers without portfolios.
23 of the cabinet members had previous ministry experience. Two of these established cabinet ministers had competed with Miller for leadership of the PC Party only weeks previously: Larry Grossman (appointed Treasurer and Minister of Economics), and Dennis Timbrell (appointed Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing). Also among the experienced cabinet members were Premier Miller himself, Bette Stephenson (appointed Chair of Management Board of Cabinet), and Bob Welch (appointed Deputy Premier and Attorney General).
Among the ten newly appointed cabinet ministers were future Premiers Mike Harris (appointed Minister of Natural Resources} and Ernie Eves (appointed Provincial Secretary for Resource Development and, on March 22, 1985, to the newly created portfolio of Ministry of Skills Development).
By the time the election occurred, three cabinet members would be serving in two portfolios: Miller (Premier and Intergovernmental Affairs), Eves (Provincial Secretary for Resource Development and Minister of Skills Development), as well as Keith Norton (Minister of Education and Minister of Colleges and Universities).
The first Miller ministry lasted 98 days.
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Second Miller ministry
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After the May 2, 1985, election, the PC Party saw its majority vanish, at they plummeted from 70 to 52 seats, still a plurality in the Legislative Assembly, but eleven shy of a majority. Eight cabinet ministers would lose their seats, while veteran cabinet members Bob Welch and James Snow did not contest their seats, thus creating ten vacancies.
This election marked a significant turning point in Ontario politics as the Tories would see their political base move out of Toronto and into the rural areas of Ontario over the next several elections. Four of the eight lost seats were situated in Metro Toronto, and the PC party saw their share of Toronto representation drop from 18 of 29 seats to a mere 10 of 29.
Miller signaled a recognition of this shifting political base in the way he filled the vacancies. He did not add a single new Toronto MPP to his cabinet, but selected three MPPs from the previously neglected Peel, York, and Durham regions that surround Metro Toronto: before the election they only had Ashe and Gregory, but after they added to those two Cousens, Cureatz, and Stevenson.
Ultimately, Miller would assemble a cabinet of 28 members on May 17, 1985, to fill 29 portfolios. He would carry four MWPs; Grossman would cover three portfolios while Harris, Timbrell and Pope would each cover two.
The second Miller ministry would last 40 days.
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List of ministers
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Notes
References
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