The honorary appointment recognizes the regiment’s links to John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada and the regiment's commander during the American War of Independence. The office of Lieutenant Governor of Ontario came into being in 1867, upon the creation of Ontario at Confederation, and evolved from the earlier position of Lieutenant Governor of Canada West. Since that date, 29 lieutenant governors have served the province, among whom were notable firsts, such as Pauline Mills McGibbon—the first female lieutenant governor of the province—and Lincoln Alexander—the first lieutenant governor of West Indian ancestry. The shortest mandate by a Lieutenant Governor of Ontario was Henry William Stisted, from 1 July 1867 to 14 July 1868, while the longest was Albert Edward Matthews, from November 1937 to December 1946. With the election in 1937 of the Liberal Party to a majority in the Legislative Assembly, the Office of the Lieutenant Governor in Ontario was targeted for spending cutbacks. Government House was closed and the viceroy given a suite at the Legislative Building as a replacement. The post then remained relatively low-key until 1985, when the personal discretion of Lieutenant Governor John Black Aird was required in the exercise of the royal prerogative: After Frank Miller that year lost the confidence of the Legislative Assembly, the opposing Liberal Party managed to negotiate a deal with both the New Democratic Party (NDP) and independent members of the assembly and Aird, rather than dissolve the legislature only 55 days after the last election, called upon Liberal leader David Peterson to serve as premier.