John Sandfield Macdonald ministry

{{Infobox government cabinet

| cabinet_name = Macdonald ministry

| cabinet_type = ministry

| cabinet_number = 1st

| jurisdiction = Ontario

| flag = Flag of Ontario.svg

| flag_border = true

| incumbent =

| image = John Sandfield Macdonald.jpg

| caption = John Sandfield Macdonald, First Premier of Ontario, 1867-1871

| date_formed = {{Start date|1867|07|16}}

| date_dissolved = {{End date|1871|12|20}}

| government_head_title = Premier

| government_head = John Sandfield Macdonald

| government_head_history =

| deputy_government_head_title =

| deputy_government_head =

| other_government_minister_title =

| other_government_minister =

| state_head_title = Monarch

| state_head = {{plainlist|

Victoria

}}

| represented_by_title = Lieutenant Governor

| represented_by = {{plainlist|

Henry William Stisted (1867-1868)
William Pearce Howland (1868-1871)

}}

| members_number =

| former_members_number =

| total_number =

| political_party = {{plainlist|

}}

| opposition_cabinet =

| opposition_party =

| opposition_leader = {{plainlist|

Archibald McKellar (1867-1869)
Edward Blake (1869-1871)

}}

| election = 1867, 1871

| last_election =

| legislature_term = {{Unbulleted list|1st Parliament of Ontario
2nd Parliament of Ontario

}}

| legislature_status = Majority (coalition)

| budget =

| advice_and_consent1 =

| advice_and_consent2 =

| incoming_formation = Confederation

| outgoing_formation = resignation of Macdonald

| predecessor = Union of Canada

| successor = Blake ministry

}}

The Sandfield Macdonald ministry was the combined cabinet (formally the Executive Council of Ontario) that governed Ontario from July 16, 1867, to December 20, 1871. It was led by the 1st Premier of Ontario, John Sandfield Macdonald. The ministry was made up of members of the "Patent Combination," which consistently commanded the support of a varying majority of the members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

Macdonald resigned 19 December 1871 after perceiving that he had lost the confidence of the 2nd Parliament of Ontario. He was succeeded as Premier of Ontario by Edward Blake.

History

The first Cabinet for Ontario, Canada consisted of Premier John Sandfield Macdonald and four other Cabinet ministers. It was known as the "Patent Combination."{{Cite web|url=http://biographi.ca/fr/bio/macdonald_john_sandfield_10F.html|title=MACDONALD, JOHN SANDFIELD|website=Dictionnaire biographique du Canada}}

It was a coalition government; John Carling and Matthew Crooks Cameron represented the Conservative Party; Edmund Burke Wood represented the coalition Grits; Macdonald and Stephen Richards represented old school "Baldwinite" Reformers.

Note that Macdonald, Wood, and Carling also sat as MPs in federal parliament; Cameron ran for a federal seat and lost. Richards, meanwhile, didn't even run in the general provincial election, and only joined Cabinet after winning a by-election late in 1867.

Macdonald represented a riding in Eastern Ontario, while Cameron, Carling, Richards and Wood all hailed from constituencies in Western Ontario. Cameron and Richards did have familial roots in Eastern Ontario, having been born and raised there.

This ministry would survive the first parliament by several months, finally resigning 20 December 1871, as Macdonald could not command the confidence of a much more Liberal dominated 2nd Parliament of Ontario. Macdonald himself did not longer survive his ministry, passing away after a long illness on June 1, 1872.

Cameron would go on to serve as Leader of the Opposition to the Blake ministry, while Carling and Woods would soon move into careers in federal politics. Richards, meanwhile, would soon retire.

Notes

There was as yet no Minister of Education; the role was filled by Chief Superintendant Egerton Ryerson, who reported to Provincial Secretary Cameron.Careless, J.M.S. The Pre-Confederation Premiers: Ontario Government Leaders, 1841-1867. 1980, p. 297-298.

The civil service remained very small throughout the Macdonald ministry. The offices of Treasury and of Attorney General each had fewer than ten employees; the largest department, Crown Lands, had fewer than 100 employees, including all land and timber field agents combined.Careless, J.M.S. The Pre-Confederation Premiers: Ontario Government Leaders, 1841-1867. 1980, p. 298.

The budget increased from $1,184,000 in 1868 to $1,817,000 in 1871.Careless, J.M.S. The Pre-Confederation Premiers: Ontario Government Leaders, 1841-1867. 1980, p. 299.

class="wikitable" style="width: 75%"

|+ Members of the Executive Council

! Position

! Minister

! Term Start

! Term End

Premier and Attorney General of Ontario

| John Sandfield Macdonaldhttps://www.ola.org/en/members/all/john-sandfield-macdonald

| July 16, 1867

| December 20, 1871

Treasurer

| Edmund Burke Woodhttps://www.ola.org/en/members/all/edmund-burke-wood