Законодательное собрание провинции Онтарио

Unicameral legislature of Ontario

The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal assent by the lieutenant governor of Ontario to become law. Together, the Legislative Assembly and Lieutenant Governor make up the unicameral Legislature of Ontario or Parliament of Ontario. The assembly meets at the Ontario Legislative Building at Queen's Park in the provincial capital of Toronto. Ontario uses a Westminster style parliamentary government in which members are elected to the Legislative Assembly through general elections using a "first past the post" system. The premier of Ontario (the province's head of government) holds office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the Legislative Assembly, typically sitting as an MPP themselves and lead the largest party or a coalition in the Legislative Assembly. The largest party not forming the government is known as the Official Opposition, its leader being recognized as leader of the Opposition. The Ontario Legislature is sometimes referred to as the "Ontario Provincial Parliament". Members of the assembly refer to themselves as "Members of the Provincial Parliament" MPPs as opposed to "Members of the Legislative Assembly" (MLAs) as in many other provinces. Ontario is the only province to do so, in accordance with a resolution passed in the Assembly on April 7, 1938. However, the Legislative Assembly Act refers only to "members of the Assembly". The Legislative Assembly is the second largest Canadian provincial deliberative assembly by number of members after the National Assembly of Quebec. The current assembly was elected on June 2, 2022, as part of the 43rd Parliament of Ontario. Owing to the location of the Legislative Building on the grounds of Queen's Park, the metonym "Queen's Park" is often used to refer to both the provincial government and the Legislative Assembly.

In accordance with the traditions of the Westminster system, most laws originate in the provincial cabinet (government bills) and are passed by the legislature after multiple rounds of debate and decision making. Backbench legislators may introduce private legislation (private member bills) or amend bills presented to the legislature by cabinet, playing an integral role in scrutinizing bills both at the debate as well as committee stages. In the Ontario legislature, this confrontation provides much of the material for Oral Questions and Members' Statements. Legislative scrutiny of the executive is also at the heart of much of the work carried out by the Legislature's Standing Committees, which are made up of ordinary backbenchers. A member's day will typically be divided among participating in the business of the House, attending caucus and committee meetings, speaking in various debates, or returning to his or her constituency to address the concerns, problems and grievances of constituents. Depending on personal inclination and political circumstances, some Members concentrate most of their attention on House matters while others focus on constituency problems, taking on something of an ombudsman's role in the process. Finally, it is the task of the legislature to provide the personnel of the executive. As already noted, under responsible government, ministers of the Crown are expected to be Members of the Assembly. When a political party comes to power it will usually place its more experienced parliamentarians into the key cabinet positions, where their parliamentary experience may be the best preparation for the rough and tumble of political life in government.

The Legislative Assembly was established by the British North America Act, 1867 (later re titled Constitution Act, 1867), which dissolved the Province of Canada into two new provinces, with the portion then called Canada West becoming Ontario. As such, the 1st Parliament of Ontario was one of the three legislative bodies succeeding the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada's 8th Parliament. The first election in 1867 produced a tie between Conservatives led by John Sandfield Macdonald and the Liberals led by Archibald McKellar. Macdonald led a coalition government with the support of moderate Liberals. John Stevenson served as the first speaker for the assembly. Its first session ran from September 3, 1867, until February 25, 1871, just prior to the 1871 general election. The Legislature has been unicameral since its inception, with the Assembly currently having 124 seats (increased from 107 as of the 42nd Ontario general election) representing electoral districts ("ridings") elected through a first past the post electoral system across the province. In 1938, the title of Member of the Legislative Assembly was officially changed to Member of Provincial Parliament. Previously, multiple terms were unofficially used in the media and in the Legislature. Ontario uses the same boundaries as those at the federal level for its Legislative Assembly in Southern Ontario, while seats in Northern Ontario correspond to the federal districts that were in place before the 2004 adjustment. Ontario had separate provincial electoral districts prior to 1999.

Regular Legislative Assembly proceedings are broadcast to subscribers of the Ontario Parliament Network in Ontario. A late night rebroadcast of Question Period is also occasionally aired on TVO, the provincial public broadcaster.

The Legislative Assembly of Ontario, like the federal House of Commons, also includes procedural officers who administer the business of the legislature and impartially assist the Speaker and MPPs with their duties. These officers collectively make up the Office of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The Office of the Assembly consists of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker as well as the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, Sergeant at Arms, executive director of Administrative Services, and executive director of Legislative Library, Research and Information Services. The Clerk of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario is the chief permanent officer of the Legislative Assembly, with the rank and status of a Deputy Minister, responsible for administering the legislature and advising MPPs on questions of procedure or interpretation of the rules and practices of the House. The Sergeant at Arms keeps order during meetings in the legislature, is charged with control of the ceremonial mace in the legislature, and is responsible for security in the House and the Legislative Precinct.

Additional officers of the Legislative Assembly were created to protect certain public interests, these officers are appointed by unanimous votes of the legislature and report to the legislature through the Speaker rather than to the provincial government.

There are two forms that committees can take. The first, standing committees, are struck for the duration of the Parliament pursuant to Standing Orders. The second, select committees, are struck usually by a Motion or an Order of the House to consider a specific bill or issue which would otherwise monopolize the time of the standing committees.

A committee which exists for the duration of a parliamentary session. This committee examines and reports on the general conduct of activities by government departments and agencies and reports on matters referred to it by the house, including proposed legislation.

The Select Committee on Elections completed its work on June 30, 2009. The Select Committee on Mental Health and Addictions completed its work on August 26, 2010. The Select Committee on the proposed transaction of the TMX Group and the London Stock Exchange Group completed its work on April 19, 2011.