The Natural Resources is a government ministry of the Canadian province of Ontario that is responsible for Ontario's provincial parks, forests, fisheries, wildlife, mineral aggregates and the Crown lands and waters that make up 87 per cent of the province. Its offices are divided into Northwestern, Northeastern and Southern Ontario regions with the main headquarters in Peterborough, Ontario.[1] The current minister is Graydon Smith].
| Ministère des Richesses naturelles (French) | |
 The ministry's headquarters at Robinson Place in Peterborough | |
| Ministry overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1972 |
| Jurisdiction | Government of Ontario |
| Headquarters | Peterborough, Ontario |
| Ministers responsible |
|
| Website | www |
In 2021, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry again merged with the Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines to form the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry, while the Ministry of Energy became a separate ministry. Following the 2022 Ontario general election, the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry was split up into three separate ministries. In June, 2024, the Minister of Natural Resources no longer had responsibility for forestry, which was now the responsibility of an Associate Minister of Forestry under the Minister of Natural Resources. The Minister of Mines and Minister of Northern Development remained separate ministries.[2][3]
The Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry was Graydon Smith from the 2022 election until June 2024, when he was appointed the Minister of Natural Resources[3] In August, 2024 Kevin Holland became the Associate Minister of Forestry and Forest Products under the Ministry of Natural Resources.[4] Since the 2022 election, the Minister of Mines is George Pirie, and the Minister of Northern Development is Greg Rickford, the previous minister for the combined of NDMNR&F.[5]
History
The first government office charge with responsibility of crown land management in modern-day Ontario was the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Northern District of North America, created in 1763[6] and initially headed by Samuel Holland. Holland was initially appointed Surveyor General of Quebec, but offered to assume the larger responsibility at no increase in salary.[7] In 1791, Upper and Lower Canada were created via the Constitutional Act 1791. Holland continued to serve as Surveyor General for both, but openly advocated that they should be separate posts.[7]: 14
In 1792, David William Smith was named by Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe to be acting Surveyor General of Upper Canada (against Holland's advice to appoint William Chewett as his replacement), Smith and was subsequently officially appointed to the position in 1798 and held the office until his resignation in 1804.[7]: 14 The previously overlooked Chewett and Thomas Ridout were appointed to the position jointly in the interim. In 1805, Charles Burton Wyatt was appointed (along with Joseph Bouchette[8]) but was suspended in 1807. Ridout was named to the office in 1807 and held the position until 1829.[7]: 15
The Office of the Commissioner of Crown Lands for Upper Canada was established in 1827.[9] By the 1840s, however, the crown lands department had been established over which the Commissioner presided, and by 1860, this was renamed the Department of Crown Lands. The primary responsibility of the department was the sale and management of public lands and the granting of land to settlers. Between 1827 and 1867, the responsibilities of the department expanded to include the duties of the Surveyor General (in 1845), as well as those of the Surveyor General of Woods and Forests (in 1852). By 1867, the department had responsibility over mines, fisheries, ordnance lands, colonization roads, and Indian affairs, as well.[10]
In 1867, the Department of Crown Lands for the Province of Canada was replaced with the Department of Crown Lands for Ontario. Ordnance lands, Indian affairs and fisheries were, however, transferred to the federal government in 1867. In 1900, the department also acquired responsibility over immigration and colonization.[11]
In 1905, legislation was passed which renamed the Commissioner of Crown Lands to the Minister of Lands and Mines. With this change, the department was renamed the Department of Lands and Mines. At this time, responsibilities for forestry were transferred to the Department of Agriculture.[12] In 1906, the department was renamed the Department of Lands, Forests and Mines, resuming responsibilities for forestry.[13] It also resumed responsibilities for immigration and colonization between 1916 and 1920.[14]
In 1920, the department was renamed Department of Lands and Forests when a separate Department of Mines was established.[15] Responsibilities for immigration and colonization were also transferred back to the Department of Agriculture.[14]
The department existed until 1972, when it amalgamated with the Department of Mines and Northern Affairs to form the Ministry of Natural Resources.[16] The ministry was responsible for northern affairs until 1977, and for mines until 1985.[17] It was again merged briefly between 1995 and 1997 with Northern Development and Mines to form a single Ministry of Natural Resources, Northern Development and Mines.
In 2014 the ministry was renamed the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, but responsibilities did not change.[18]
In June 2021, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry once again merged with the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines to form the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry.[citation needed]
After the 2022 Ontario General Election in which the incumbent Progressive Conservatives were re-elected, the Ministry was once again separated, this time into 3 independent ministries; the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, the Ministry of Northern Development and the Ministry of Mines.[19]
On 6 June 2024, it was announced that the Minister of Natural Resources longer had responsibility for forestry.[2] Nolan Quinn became the Associate Minister of Forestry under the Ministry of Natural Resources.[3] On August 16, Kevin Holland became the Associate Minister of Forestry and Forest Products .[4]
List of ministers (and "commissioners", before 1905)
| Name | Term of office | Name | Term of office | Political party (Ministry) |
Note | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commissioner of Crown Lands | ||||||||
| Stephen Richards | 16 July 1867 | 25 July 1871 | Liberal Conservative (MacDonald) | |||||
| Matthew Crooks Cameron | 25 July 1871 | 21 December 1871 | ||||||
| Richard William Scott | 21 December 1871 | 25 October 1872 | Liberal (Blake) |
|||||
| 25 October 1872 | 4 December 1873 | Liberal (Mowat) | ||||||
| Timothy Blair Pardee | 4 December 1873 | 18 January 1889 | Resigned due to poor health, subsequently died on 21 July 1889. | |||||
| Arthur Sturgis Hardy | 18 January 1889 | 21 July 1896 | ||||||
| John Morison Gibson | 21 July 1896 | 21 October 1899 | Liberal (Hardy) |
|||||
| Elihu Davis | 21 October 1899 | 22 November 1904 | Liberal (Ross) |
|||||
| Alexander Grant MacKay | 22 November 1904 | 8 February 1905 | ||||||
| James Joseph Foy | 8 February 1905 | 30 May 1905 | Conservative (Whitney) |
|||||
| Minister of Lands and Mines | ||||||||
| Francis Cochrane | 30 May 1905 | 27 April 1906 | ||||||
| Minister of Lands, Forests and Mines | ||||||||
| Francis Cochrane | 27 April 1906 | 12 October 1911 | ||||||
| William Howard Hearst | 12 October 1911 | 2 October 1914 | ||||||
| 2 October 1914 | 22 December 1914 | Conservative (Hearst) |
While Premier | |||||
| Howard Ferguson | 22 December 1914 | 14 November 1919 | ||||||
| Minister of Lands and Forests | Minister of Mines | United Farmers (Drury) | ||||||
| Beniah Bowman | 14 November 1919 | 16 July 1923 | Harry Mills | 26 June 1920 | 16 July 1923 | |||
| James W. Lyons | 16 July 1923 | 1 March 1926 | Charles McCrea | 16 July 1923 | 15 December 1930 | Conservative (Ferguson) |
||
| Howard Ferguson | 2 March 1926 | 18 October 1926 | ||||||
| William Finlayson | 18 October 1926 | 15 December 1930 | ||||||
| 15 December 1930 | 10 July 1934 | 15 December 1930 | 10 July 1934 | Conservative (Henry) | ||||
| Peter Heenan | 10 July 1934 | 27 May 1941 | Paul Leduc | 10 July 1934 | 30 September 1940 | Liberal (Hepburn) |
||
| Robert Laurier | 7 October 1940 | 21 October 1942 | ||||||
| Norman Otto Hipel | 27 May 1941 | 21 October 1942 | Hipel was concurrently Provincial Secretary and Registrar (27 October 1942 – 18 May 1943) | |||||
| 21 October 1942 | 18 May 1943 | 21 October 1942 | 18 May 1943 | Liberal (Conant) | ||||
| 18 May 1943 | 17 August 1943 | 21 October 1942 | 18 May 1943 | Liberal (Nixon) | ||||
| Wesley Gardiner Thompson | 17 August 1943 | 28 November 1946 | Leslie Frost | 17 August 1943 | 19 October 1948 | PC (Drew) |
||
| Harold Robinson Scott | 28 November 1946 | 19 October 1948 | ||||||
| 19 October 1948 | 4 May 1949 | 19 October 1948 | 4 May 1949 | PC (Kennedy) | ||||
| 4 May 1949 | 3 June 1952 | Welland Gemmell | 4 May 1949 | 3 June 1952 | PC (Frost) | |||
| Welland Gemmell | 3 June 1952 | 18 June 1954 | Philip Kelly | 3 June 1952 | 18 July 1957 | Gemmell died in office | ||
| Clare Mapledoram | 7 July 1954 | 4 July 1958 | ||||||
| Wilf Spooner | 18 July 1957 | 22 December 1958 | ||||||
| Wilf Spooner | 23 July 1958 | 8 November 1961 | James Anthony Maloney | 22 December 1958 | 1 October 1961 | |||
| 8 November 1961 | 25 October 1962 | George Wardrope | 8 November 1961 | 23 November 1967 | PC (Robarts) |
|||
| Kelso Roberts | 25 October 1962 | 24 November 1966 | ||||||
| René Brunelle | 24 November 1966 | 1 March 1971 | ||||||
| René Brunelle | 23 November 1967 | 13 February 1968 | ||||||
| Allan Lawrence | 13 February 1968 | 26 June 1970 | ||||||
| Minister of Mines and Northern Affairs | ||||||||
| Allan Lawrence | 26 June 1970 | 1 March 1971 | ||||||
| 1 March 1971 | 2 February 1972 | Leo Bernier | 1 March 1971 | 2 April 1972 | PC (Davis) | |||
| Leo Bernier | 2 February 1972 | 7 April 1972 | ||||||
| Minister of Natural Resources | ||||||||
| Leo Bernier | 7 April 1972 | 3 February 1977 | ||||||
| Minister of Natural Resources | Minister of Northern Affairs | |||||||
| Frank Miller | 3 February 1977 | 18 August 1978 | Leo Bernier | 3 February 1977 | 26 June 1985 | |||
| James Auld | 18 August 1978 | 10 April 1981 | Auld was concurrently Minister of Energy | |||||
| Alan Pope | 10 April 1981 | 8 February 1985 | ||||||
| Mike Harris | 8 February 1985 | 26 June 1985 | PC (Miller) |
Harris was concurrently Minister of Energy from 17 May 1985, onward | ||||
| Vince Kerrio | 26 June 1985 | 2 August 1989 | René Fontaine | 26 June 1985 | 26 June 1986 | Liberal (Peterson) |
Kerrio was concurrently Minister of Energy until 29 September 1987 Peterson was minister while Premier Conway was concurrently Government House Leader René Fontaine held the separate title of Minister of Northern Development from 29 September 1987, onward McLeod was concurrently Minister of Energy | |
| David Peterson | 26 June 1986 | 29 September 1987 | ||||||
| Sean Conway | 29 September 1987 | 2 August 1989 | ||||||
| Lyn McLeod | 2 August 1989 | 1 October 1990 | Hugh O'Neil | 2 August 1989 | 1 October 1990 | |||
| Bud Wildman | 1 October 1990 | 3 February 1993 | Gilles Pouliot | 1 October 1990 | 31 July 1991 | NDP (Rae) |
Wildman was concurrently Minister Responsible for Native Affairs Shelley Martel held the separate title of Minister of Northern Development from 1 October 1990, to 31 July 1991 | |
| Shelley Martel | 31 July 1991 | 7 October 1994 | ||||||
| Howard Hampton | 3 February 1993 | 26 June 1995 | Hampton was concurrently Minister Responsible for Native Affairs | |||||
| Gilles Pouliot | 7 October 1994 | 26 June 1995 | ||||||
| Minister of Natural Resources, Northern Development and Mines | PC (Harris) |
|||||||
| Chris Hodgson | 26 June 1995 | 10 October 1997 | ||||||
| Minister of Natural Resources | Ministry of Northern Development and Mines | |||||||
| John Snobelen | 10 October 1997 | 14 April 2002 | Chris Hodgson | 10 October 1997 | 17 June 1999 | Hodgson was concurrently Chair of the Management Board of Cabinet | ||
| Tim Hudak | 2 June 1999 | 8 March 2001 | ||||||
| Dan Newman | 8 February 2001 | 14 April 2002 | ||||||
| Jerry Ouellette | 15 April 2002 | 22 October 2003 | Jim Wilson | 15 April 2002 | 22 October 2003 | PC (Eves) |
||
| David Ramsay | 23 October 2003 | 30 October 2007 | Rick Bartolucci | 23 October 2003 | 30 October 2007 | Liberal (McGuinty) |
Concurrently Minister Responsible for Aboriginal Affairs (29 June 2005 – 21 June 2007), Minister of Aboriginal Affairs (21 June 2007 – 30 October 2007) | |
| Donna Cansfield | 30 October 2007 | 18 January 2010 | Michael Gravelle | 30 October 2007 | 20 October 2011 | Gravelle was styled as Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry between 24 June 2009, and 20 October 2011 | ||
| Linda Jeffrey | 18 January 2010 | 20 October 2011 | ||||||
| Michael Gravelle | 20 October 2011 | 11 February 2013 | Rick Bartolucci | 20 October 2011 | 11 February 2013 | Bartolucci was concurrently Chair of Cabinet | ||
| David Orazietti | 11 February 2013 | 24 June 2014 | Michael Gravelle | 11 February 2013 | 29 June 2018 | Liberal (Wynne) |
||
| Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry | ||||||||
| Bill Mauro | 24 June 2014 | 13 June 2016 | ||||||
| Kathryn McGarry | 13 June 2016 | 17 January 2018 | ||||||
| Nathalie Des Rosiers | 17 January 2018 | 29 June 2018 | ||||||
| Jeff Yurek | 29 June 2018 | 5 November 2018 | Greg Rickford | 29 June 2018 | 18 June 2021 | PC (Ford) |
Rickford was styled Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines and was concurrently Minister of Indigenous Affairs | |
| John Yakabuski | 5 November 2018 | 18 June 2021 | ||||||
| Minister of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry | ||||||||
| Greg Rickford | 18 June 2021 | 24 June 2022 | Concurrently Minister of Indigenous Affairs | |||||
| Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry | ||||||||
| Graydon Smith | 24 June 2022 | 6 June 2024 | ||||||
| Minister of Natural Resources | ||||||||
| Graydon Smith | 6 June 2024 | incumbent | ||||||
Organization
MNRF is organized into divisions; within each division are branches/regions, sections, and units.[20]
- Divisions
- Regional Operations Division
- Provincial Services Division
- Policy Division
- Corporate Management and Information Division
Responsibilities
The Ministry is responsible for:
- Fish & Wildlife Management – sustainably managing Ontario's fish and wildlife resources.[citation needed]
- Land & Waters Management – leading the management of Ontario's Crown lands, water, oil, gas, salt and aggregates resources, including making Crown land available for renewable energy projects.[citation needed]
- Forest Management – ensuring the sustainable management of Ontario's Crown forests.[citation needed]
- Ontario Parks – guiding the management of Ontario's parks and protected areas.[citation needed]
- Forest Fire, Flood and Drought Protection - protecting people, property and communities from related emergencies.[21]
- Geographic Information – developing and applying geographic information to help manage the province's natural resources.[citation needed]
The ministry also has responsibility for the Office of the Mining & Lands Commissioner and the Niagara Escarpment Commission agencies.[22][23]
Regional Operations Division
The Regional Operations Division (ROD) is a frontline arm of the Ministry with offices in 35 locations across Ontario.[24] It plays a key role in issuing authorizations and compliance monitoring to ensure the province's natural resources are managed effectively and sustainably. ROD is accountable for:
- The sustainable management of Ontario's fish and wildlife resources
- The management of Ontario's Crown lands, water, oil, gas, salt and aggregates resources, including making Crown land available for renewable energy projects
- Ensuring the sustainable management of Ontario's Crown forests
- Protecting people, property and communities from forest fires, floods, droughts, and other emergencies
- Developing and applying geographic information to help manage the province's natural resources.[25]
ROD's programs and services contribute directly to:
- provincial revenue (e.g. Crown land rental fees, hydro-electric royalties, etc.)
- understanding and protecting Ontario's ecosystems and natural resources
- supporting the natural resource-based and green energy economy (e.g. fishing, hunting, tourism, forestry, etc.)
- keeping people and property safe from natural hazards (e.g. dam operations, flood forecasting and warning, etc.)
ROD also works jointly with First Nations on community-based land use planning in the far north. The parties make consensus-based recommendations on which Crown lands will be dedicated to protection and which will be open for potential economic development (e.g. tourism, forestry, mining, renewable energy).[26]
Ontario Parks
Ontario Parks protects significant natural and cultural resources in a system of parks and protected areas.[citation needed]
Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services
The Ministry's Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services (AFFES) program coordinates forest fire detection, monitoring, suppression and public information and education services for Ontario. AFFES also provides aviation services for the Ontario government and leads emergency management planning and response for natural hazards such as forest fires, floods, erosion, dam failures, unstable soils and bedrock, droughts and oil and gas emergencies.[27]
The Ministry's entrance into the field of aviation started with hiring Laurentide Air Services to carry out fire patrols however the government soon realized it could save money by carrying out the operations itself and formed the Ontario Provincial Air Service, (O.P.A.S.) in February 1924 with 13 second hand Curtiss HS-2L flying boats that had been originally built for the US Navy. The OPAS was an early pioneer in the use of aircraft for the discovery and extinguishing of forest fires. Initially this involved carrying warnings of fires back to existing fire patrols, to be extinguished by teams that travelled by canoe or overland but soon they began landing firefighters (never more than a few at a time due to the limited carrying capacity of the aircraft available) with a hand-operated water pump near a fire. As a part of this program the OPAS completely rebuilt damaged aircraft before they began building a number of aircraft under license to meet their requirements such as the Buhl Air Sedan, and later provided considerable input on the development of the de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver and de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter and finally were central to the invention of the water bomber. The first water bomber was an OPAS DHC Beaver with a tank mounted on the float designed to dump the water out quickly. This had followed unsuccessful experiments with bags of water.[28]
- Current AFFES Airfleet
- 9 Bombardier Canadair CL-415 - firefighting[29]
- 3 Bell 206 L-1 Long Ranger II[30]
- 1 Eurocopter 350-B2s[30]
- 2 Beechcraft King Air 300[30]
- 7 Eurocopter EC 130 B4[30]
- 6 de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters - firefighting[30]
- 5 de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Mk III Turbo Beavers - firefighting[30]
- Retired[31]
- 4 Buhl CA-6 Air Sedans
- 2 Canadian Vickers Vedette Flying Boats
- 14 Curtiss HS-2L Flying Boats
- de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver
- de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter
- de Havilland Dove Twin Engine Monoplane
- de Havilland Fox Moth Cabin Biplane
- 2 de Havilland Giant Moth Cabin Biplane
- 17 de Havilland Moth (includes DH.60G Gypsy Moth, DH.60M Moth & DH.60X Moth)
- 4 Fairchild 71 cabin monoplanes
- Fairchild KR-34 (Open cockpit biplane permanently assigned to the Superintendent)
- Grumman CS2F-1 Tracker - firefighting
- 4 Hamilton Metalplane cabin monoplanes
- 1 MBB/Kawasaki BK 117 twin engine helicopter
- 10+ Stinson Reliant Cabin monoplane
- Waco ZQC-6 Cabin Biplane
Aircraft on display
- Former MNR de Havilland Beaver, C-FOBS, serial number 2, the first production Beaver manufactured by de Havilland Canada, is on display at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre, Sault Ste Marie, Ontario[30][32]
OMNR image gallery
MNR Canadair CL-215 air tanker and Cessna 337 contract fire detection aircraft in Dryden, Ontario 1995
A Bell 205A-1 on contract firefighting duty with Ministry of Natural Resources parked on the MNR's lower helipad at Nym Lake, ON, 1996
A contract Bell 205A-1 with its MNR helitack firefighting crew on standby at Sioux Lookout, Ontario, 1995
MNR contracts a variety of aircraft for fire fighting each year, such as this S-58T ready to deploy to a project fire, Dryden, Ontario, 1995
An MNR contract firefighting aircraft at work: a S-58T with bambi water bucket, near Dryden, Ontario, 1995
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources deHavilland DHC 2 Mk 3 Turbo Beavers on amphib floats in Dryden ON in 1995
Bell 205A-1 and Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources firefighters working on Fire 141 in 1995
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources firefighters prepare to deploy on an arriving contract Bell 204B on Fire 141 in 1995
See also
References
External links
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