Ontario cabinet ministers, premiers to be called ‘honourable' for life
When former Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne left government in 2018, the once-prominent politician encountered a persistent question from constituents: How, exactly, should they address her?
Premiers and cabinet ministers who served their time at the highest levels of the provincial government often returned to non-political life with few official signs of their contributions in office.
The 'honourable' title given to the members of the executive council while in office, is checked at the door once a politician or premier leaves their position at Queen's Park – a long-standing provincial rule that, Wynne said, regularly created confusion.
'The reality is that people often use it anyway,' Wyne told Global News. 'I will be called the Honorable Kathleen Wynne, and I usually have to correct people and say you actually can't… that's not a formal designation that I have now that I'm not in office.'
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To add to the awkward encounters, former federal cabinet ministers, who retain their honorific once they leave office, would often receive a more formal introduction at events than Ontario's first female premier would – a discrepancy that Wynne said always 'felt strange.'
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Premier Doug Ford is set to change that provincial law, paving the way for former members of cabinet to permanently retain the title 'honourable' for life, with no exceptions.
The change was spelled out in the government's recently tabled budget, and defended by Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy when he faced questions about its necessity.
'They work hard, they believe in what they're doing for their constituents, and I think it's a measure to show that we respect public service and we respect our public servants,' Bethlenfalvy said of the Members of the Executive Council Recognition Act.
Once the new law is passed, every politician who has served in cabinet in the past would officially be called 'The Honourable' and would be allowed to include the initials of the Executive Council of Ontario (E.C.O.) after their name.
'I'm very proud to put it in my legislation,' the finance minister said.
Wynne said while the life-long title is not 'inherently necessary' she's generally supportive of formalizing reality.
'It does signal a role that those of us who have been in cabinet, at the provincial level, that we played and that we all play honorably,' Wynne said.
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