Women in Ontario won the right to vote on April 12th, 1917 and the right to hold office in 1919. Agnes Macphail – a school teacher from Grey County, Ontario, was elected Canada’s first woman Member of Parliament in 1921.
Work is ongoing in phases to ensure that essential repairs to the sandstone exterior are carried out. All of the original sandstone on the Legislative Building was sourced from a quarry northwest of Toronto and carved on the grounds at Queen’s Park by English stone carvers.
In February, 2013, Kathleen Wynne became Ontario’s first woman Premier. She led the provincial Liberals to an election victory in 2014 – a vote that resulted in the highest number of women to be elected as MPPs in the province’s history - 38 of 107.
Queen Elizabeth visited the Ontario Legislature once again on July 6th. She unveils a plaque commemorating the 150th anniversary of Queen’s Park, opened as a Toronto public park by her great grandfather Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) on September 11, 1860.
The Ontario Veteran’s Memorial is unveiled on the Legislative Building’s south grounds in 2006. Featuring photos and illustrations of military campaigns laser-etched into stone, it honours those who served from the mid-19th century to present-day.
Elected Ontario Premier in 2003, Dalton McGuinty went on to win three consecutive terms – the first Liberal Premier to do so in the province’s history since Sir Oliver Mowat in the 1890s.
The Speaker is elected from among the MPPs shortly after a general election - a practice that began at Ontario's Legislature in 1990. David Warner, MPP for the riding of Scarborough-Ellesmere, was the province's first elected Speaker, serving from 1990 to 1995.
Bob Rae was elected Ontario Premier at the September, 1990, election. He led the province’s first New Democratic government, in power until 1995.
Televised broadcasts of Ontario’s Legislature begin during the fall of 1986 on the ONPARL television channel. Broadcasts are available in English and French thanks to simultaneous translation taking place on the floor of the Legislative Chamber.
Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe founds the town of York (now Toronto) on the north shore of Lake Ontario, making it the location of Upper Canada’s new capital. Plans get under way to construct buildings at York, including the province’s first purpose-built Legislature.
