Official Ontario names are names that have been created, approved and are used by the Government of Ontario. They are used to identify the structure, staff and personnel and activities of the provincial government.

Use Official Names Ontario to find official names of the Government of Ontario in English and French, including:

  • government programs and initiatives
  • public policies
  • ministries, agencies and their units
  • position titles

Official Names Ontario 

Official names of the government of Ontario include:

  • position titles and police ranks
  • awards and award categories, distinctions, fellowships and scholarships
  • slogans, contest and campaign names
  • the names of: 
    • ministries and their organizational units (secretariats, divisions, branches, sections, units) 
    • agencies, boards, commissions, councils, committees, working groups, task forces, panels and teams 
    • government plans, frameworks, programs, projects, strategies, initiatives, public policies, standards, funds and funding streams, grants, taxes and tax credits 
    • government administrative regions 
    • specialized services (help desks, hotlines, information lines) and squads 
    • IT systems, applications, networks, hubs, portals, platforms, gateways, databases, directories and registries
    • provincial infrastructure, government buildings and provincial highway
    • special or commemorative events, conferences and exhibits 

The Official Names Ontario database does not include:

  • ​​official names from Ontario associations or professional organizations 

  • official names from the municipal, university, education and hospital sectors

  • document titles and forms

Searching the database

The Official Names Ontario record is divided into three major sections: 

  • common record fields (set of fields at the top of the record) 

  • English section (all the English names and their related fields) 

  • French section (all the French names and their related fields) 

Common Record Fields​ 

A record may include the following fields: 

Field name Description
Record number

Record identification number; useful for searching by record number.
Database

The name of the database where the record is stored.
Ministry

The name and code of the current ministry or ministries with which the record is affiliated.
Former ministry

The name and code of the former ministry or ministries with which the record is affiliated. For example, "Ministry of Revenue - REV-Oct11" indicates that the record is affiliated with the Ministry of Revenue, which existed until October 2011.
Entity

The name and code of the current entity with which the name is affiliated.
Former entity

The name and code of the former entity with which the record is affiliated.
Subject

The subject category to which the official government name belongs. For example: "names and titles – organizational units."
Name status

The status indicating if the name has not yet been established, has never been established or no longer exists.
Created date

The date when the record was created.
Modified date

The date when the record was last modified.

English Section 

Each English name listed in this section may include the following fields: 

Field name Description
English The English name.
Number

Indicates the grammatical number of names that are singular although their written form is plural. For example: Application Services.
Official status

Indicates the status of the name: 'official name', 'synonym', 'proposed name' or 'avoid'.
Category

Indicates the form of the name: acronym, short form or phrase.

Equivalency

An identifier (no English - use French) indicating that the French name is used in English because there is no English equivalent. For example: Centre Jules-Léger.

ONTERM note

Comments related to the English name.

French Section 

Each French name listed in this section may include the following fields: 

Field name Description
French The French name.
Gender

Indicates the grammatical gender of the head noun in a name: “m” for masculine, “f” for feminine or “m/f” for either masculine or feminine.

Number

Indicates the grammatical number of the head noun in a name is plural.

Official status

Indicates the status of the name: 'official name', 'synonym', 'proposed name' or 'avoid'.
Category

Indicates the form of the name: acronym, short form or phrase.

Equivalency

An identifier (no French - use English) indicating that the English name is used in French because there is no French equivalent. For example: AccessOPS.
ONTERM note Comments related to the French name.