Early roads in Ontario were cleared when needed for local use and connections to other settlements. Key roads such as
Yonge Street and
Kingston Road were cleared by order from officials by various parties such as settlers,
British Army units (portion of Yonge
Queen's Rangers) or private contractors (Toronto to Trent section of Kingston Road c. 1799-1800 by
Asa Danforth). Road standards varied (poor in winter or after rainfall) and used by horses or horse drawn stagecoaches. With the arrival of motor vehicles proper road development and maintenance was needed. The earliest Ontario government office responsible for roads and transportation was the position of the
Provincial Instructor in Road-Making, first appointed in 1896 and attached to the
Ontario Department of Agriculture. A.W. Campbell held the position of
Provincial Instructor in Road-Making from 1896 to 1900 and
Director of the Office of the Commissioner of Highways from 1900 until 1910. He was tasked with training Provincial Road Building Instructors. These instructors worked to establish specifications for the almost of
county- and
township- maintained roads. The name of the office was changed to the
Commissioner of Highways and transferred to the
Department of Public Works in 1900. By 1910, the office was generally referred to as the
Highways Branch. In 1910, W.A. McLean, Provincial Engineer of Highways, succeeded A.W. Campbell as the director of the Highways Branch. Under considerable pressure from the Ontario Good Roads Association and the ever-increasing number of drivers, which the province itself licensed at that time, the
Department of Public Highways was formed in 1916 with the goal of creating a provincial highway network. The department assumed all the functions of the Highways Branch. The department assumed its first highway, the
Provincial Highway, on August 21, 1917. On February 20, 1920, the department assumed several hundred kilometres of new highways, formally establishing the provincial highway system. Although established as a separate department, the Department of Public Highways shared ministers with the Department of Public Works prior to 1931 and seems to have been in a quasi-subordinate relationship with this department. In 1916, the
Motor Vehicles Branch was established within the Ontario Department of Public Highways. Prior to this, responsibility for the registering and licensing of motor vehicles rested with the
Provincial Secretary (a responsibility it held since 1903). Although there are references to motor vehicle licensing and registration between 1916 and 1918, there is no mention in the Annual Reports of what agency actually performed this function; it is, however, likely that it was a form of, or precursor to, the Motor Vehicles Branch. In 1919, a Registrar of Motor Vehicles, as head of the Motor Vehicles Branch, is clearly identified. In 1917, the
Provincial Highway Act was passed, giving the department authority to maintain and construct leading roads throughout the province as provincial highways (designated King's highways in 1930). The Department of Public Highways was renamed the
Department of Highways in 1931 and was assigned its own minister,
Leopold Macaulay, though Macaulay later held both portfolios in 1934. In 1937, the
Department of Northern Development, previously responsible for highways in the northern parts of the province, was merged into the Department of Highways, thus bringing all highway work in the province under one administration. On July 1, 1957, legislation was passed which established a separate
Department of Transport, and the Motor Vehicles Branch was transferred to this new department. The new department assumed responsibilities for vehicle licensing, vehicle inspection, driver examination, driver licensing and improvement, traffic engineering, accident claims, and highway safety. In addition, it was responsible for the Ontario Highway Transport Board. In May 1971, the Department of Transport and the Department of Highways were amalgamated to form the
Department of Transportation and Communications. The new department was presided over by the
Charles MacNaughton, who had been both the Minister of Highways and the Minister of Transport prior to the amalgamation. The department was renamed the
Ministry of Transportation and Communications in 1972 as part of a government wide reorganization. In September 1987, the responsibilities for communications were transferred to the
Ministry of Culture and Communications, and the ministry was renamed the
Ministry of Transportation. == Administration ==