Overview

The Government of Ontario includes ministries, agencies and Crown corporations. Its workforce of 60,000+ public servants is called the Ontario Public Service (OPS).

The OPS:

  • helps the government of the day to develop and deliver policies and programs
  • is politically neutral and remains in place through elections
  • works in many different areas (e.g., policy, communications and program delivery)
  • is governed by the rules set out in the Public Service of Ontario Act, 2006

Organizational structure

The OPS is overseen by the Secretary of the Cabinet (the head of the public service) and a team of deputy ministers, one for each government ministry.

The Secretary of the Cabinet:

  • is the head of the OPS and the Premier’s most senior policy advisor
  • is responsible to all ministers for running their respective ministries

Meet the Secretary of the Cabinet.

The Deputy Ministers:

  • are appointed as the most senior public servant in each ministry
  • support their minister who heads the ministry
  • are responsible for their ministry’s day-to-day operations
  • are accountable to the Secretary of the Cabinet for managing those operations

Learn more about Deputy Ministers.

Information and Information Technology (I&IT)

I&IT provides innovative technology and web support for the public service. It includes:

  • the Office of the Corporate Chief Information Officer
  • nine I&IT business clusters

Each cluster supports a group of ministries with common technology needs:

  • Central Agencies (Cabinet Office, the Ministry of Finance)
  • Children, Youth and Social Services
  • Community Services
  • Enterprise Financial Systems and Health Services
  • Health Services Cluster
  • Justice Technology Services
  • Labour and Transportation
  • Land and Resources
  • ServiceOntario (the service arm of government)

The Office of the Corporate Chief Information Officer:

  • makes strategic and security decisions concerning technology
  • sets information management policy
  • oversees records management for the Archives of Ontario
  • aligns I&IT work to support the government’s direction and vision
  • manages all servers, computers, software and mobile devices
  • keeps networks, information and public records secure

Diversity and accessibility

The OPS strives to be a workplace where everyone feels welcomed, valued and respected. Its Diversity Office is responsible for transforming the OPS into a more diverse, accessible and inclusive organization that supports all employees in reaching their full potential.

Some of the initiatives that are part of the OPS’ diversity strategy include:

  • staff training and awareness
  • recruitment and hiring policies
  • employee networks
  • workplace discrimination and harassment policies
  • diversity mentoring
  • removing barriers for people with disabilities
  • reviewing Ontario statutes for accessibility

Read the OPS accessible customer service policy

Accessibility in the Ontario Public Service

Open Government

The OPS supports the work of an open, transparent and accessible government — a new initiative underway to unlock the power of government information by sharing it freely with the public.

Learn more about open government

Browse the government’s open data catalogue