John Sandfield Macdonald ministry

The Sandfield Macdonald ministry was the inaugural cabinet of the government of Ontario (formally the Executive Council of Ontario), a province in Canada. It was formed shortly after Canadian Confederation on July 16, 1867, and governed until it was ousted December 19, 1871. It was headed by the province’s first Premier John Sandfield Macdonald, who labeled his administration the “Patent Combination” to booster its claim as a coalition government made up of both conservatives and reformers (a common alternative label for liberals until mid twentieth century).

The government was formed provisionally before the first election was held. Its governing mandate was confirmed following the 1867 Ontario election, which took place over weeks in August and September. While partisan affiliations in the first few years of confederation were fluid and unstructured, it was generally acknowledged that the Sandfield Macdonald ministry commanded the support of around 50 of the 82 elected members during the first Ontario Parliament.

The election held in March 1871 however weakened the ministry’s standing substantially. With parliamentary confidence for the ministry in doubt, Sandfield Macdonald resisted calling the 2nd Parliament of Ontario in session for eight months. When parliament was finally convened in December that year, Sandfield Macdonald ignored three votes of non-confidence in his refusal to relinquish office. The Patent Combination finally came undone on December 19, 1871, after its Treasurer Edmund Burke Wood announced his resignation and voted with the opposition. It was succeeded by a Liberal ministry led by Edward Blake.