Ontario Then and Now

East wing of Ontario's Legislative Building, 1960 and 2017

East Wing of Ontario's Legislative Building, c. 1960 and 2017. The original hardwood floors covered by linoleum were restored in the 1980s. 1960 image © Archives of Ontario

Over the past 150 years, Ontario has grown from a small, mostly rural province of 1.6 million people, to a large, mainly urban province that is home to approximately 14 million inhabitants.

124 MPPs currently represent Ontarians, up from the 82 at Confederation, and reduced from the 130 that served in the 1980s and 90s.

After 1943 with the election of the first two female MPPs – Agnes MacPhail and Rae Luckock – the number of women serving parliament continued to grow with each election; currently 36% of Ontario’s MPPs are women.