The Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines (MENDM) was the ministry responsible for developing a safe, reliable and affordable energy supply across the province, overseeing Ontario’s mineral sector and promoting northern economic and community development. The ministry's head office is located in Sudbury. The last Minister of Northern Development and Mines was Hon. Greg Rickford. The Ministry's programs also include the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund, and the creation and funding of local services boards to provide essential services in remote Northern Ontario communities which are not served by incorporated municipal governments. In 2021, Premier Doug Ford separated the Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines into the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry, by merging the ministry (excluding Energy, which was made into its own portfolio) with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. History 1842 - Geological Survey of Canada formed by the Province of Canada 1846 - Commissioner of Crown Lands (Province of Canada) assumed control for mines and mining. 1867 - Responsibility for mines and mining transferred to the Ontario Commissioner of Crown Lands. The Montreal-based Geological Survey of Canada became part of the new federal government and moved to Ottawa in 1881. 1890 - Royal Commission on Ontario's Mineral Resources (Chairman, John M. Charlton) 1891 - Ontario Bureau of Mines established with Alexander Blue as its first director. 1905 – The first cabinet minister from Northern Ontario, Sudbury's Frank Cochrane, is appointed. Cochrane serves as minister of the new Department of Lands, Forests and Mines until 1911. 1912 – The Department creates a Northern Development Branch to further support growth in the North. In 1926, this branch becomes the Department of Northern Development. 1930s – The Department of Northern Development merges with the Department of Highways. Its purpose: to build and maintain roads and bridges in Northern Ontario. 1970 – The government creates a new Department of Mines and Northern Affairs in response to northerners' concerns about the lack of access to provincial government information. Twenty-four Northern Affairs offices in the region bring the Ontario government to northerners. This department changes name and responsibilities throughout the 1970s and early 1980s due to government restructuring. 1985 – The government creates a new Ministry of Northern Affairs and Mines. Later that year, the name becomes the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines. The change emphasizes the province's commitment to