Monarchy in Ontario

By the arrangements of the Canadian federation, Canada's monarchy operates in Ontario as the core of the province's Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. As such, the Crown within Ontario's jurisdiction may be referred to as the Crown in Right of Ontario, His Majesty in Right of Ontario, the King in Right of Ontario, or His Majesty the King in Right of Ontario. The Constitution Act, 1867, leaves many functions in Ontario specifically assigned to the sovereign's viceroy, the lieutenant governor of Ontario, whose direct participation in governance is limited by the constitutional conventions of constitutional monarchy.

The role of the Crown is both legal and practical; it functions in Ontario in the same way it does in all of Canada's other provinces, being the centre of a constitutional construct in which the institutions of government acting under the sovereign's authority share the power of the whole. It is thus the foundation of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the province's government. The Canadian monarch—since  8 September 2022, King Charles III—is represented and his duties carried out by the lieutenant governor of Ontario, whose direct participation in governance is limited by the conventional stipulations of constitutional monarchy, with most related powers entrusted for exercise by the elected parliamentarians, the ministers of the Crown generally drawn from among them, and the judges and justices of the peace. The Crown today primarily functions as a guarantor of continuous and stable governance and a nonpartisan safeguard against the abuse of power.

This arrangement began with the 1867 British North America Act and continued an unbroken line of monarchical government extending back to the early 17th century. Though it has its own government headed by the King, as a province, Ontario is not itself a kingdom.

There is currently no government house in Ontario. A viceregal suite in the Ontario Legislative Building in Toronto is used both as an office and official event location by the lieutenant governor, the sovereign, and other members of the royal family. The lieutenant governor resides in their own private residence, though may be provided accommodations by the provincial government if they are not from Toronto. The King and his relations reside at a hotel, usually the Fairmont Royal York, when in Toronto.

Those in the royal family perform ceremonial duties when on a tour of the province; the royal persons do not receive any personal income for their service, only the costs associated with the exercise of these obligations are funded by both the Canadian and Ontario Crowns in their respective councils. Monuments around Ontario mark some of those visits, while others honour a royal personage or event. Further, Ontario's monarchical status is illustrated by royal names applied to regions, communities, schools, and buildings, many of which may also have a specific history with a member or members of the royal family; for example, Ontario has at least 47 distinct features named for Queen Victoria: one county, one township, 14 populated places, and 31 physical features. Associations also exist between the Crown and many private organizations within the province; these may have been founded by a royal charter, received a royal prefix, and/or be honoured with the patronage of a member of the royal family. Examples include the Royal Hamilton Yacht Club, which is under the patronage of Charles III and received its royal designation from Queen Victoria in 1891, and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, which, though founded in 1886, was constituted through royal charter by King George VI in 1947.

The main symbol of the monarchy is the sovereign himself, his image (in portrait or effigy) thus being used to signify government authority. A royal cypher or crown may also illustrate the monarchy as the locus of authority, without referring to any specific monarch. Further, though the monarch does not form a part of the constitutions of Ontario's honours, they do stem from the Crown as the fount of honour and, so, bear on the insignia symbols of the sovereign.

The modern Crown's place in Ontario results, in part, from the French monarchy's history in New France (mostly in the Pays d'en Haut region; today southern Ontario), from the 16th century to the transfer of the territory to the British Crown in 1763, and, in part, from the establishment of Ruperts Land by royal proclamation of King Charles II of England in 1670, which included what is now northern Ontario.

During and following the American Revolutionary War, which took place between 1775 and 1783, some 46,000 American settlers loyal to the Crown, known as the United Empire Loyalists, fled north to the Province of Quebec (formerly a part of New France, until the British were given control in 1763) and other colonies in the Canadas. The King-in-Council granted each family 0.81 square kilometres (200 acres) of land. From then, Ontario residents descended from these original refugees may use the post-nominals UE, standing for United Empire, and the Canadian Heraldic Authority can grant them distinctive coronets in their coats of arms.