The Ontario Health Quality Council, established in September 2005, was created under The Commitment to the Future of Medicare Act, 2004. The Council is an Operational Service Agency that reports to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Section 4 of the Act sets out its mandate:

(a) to monitor and report to the people of Ontario on:

(i) access to publicly funded health services;

(ii) health human resources in publicly funded health services;

(iii) consumer and population health status; and

(iv) health system outcomes; and

(b) to support continuous quality improvement.

Section 5 of the Act requires the Council to deliver a yearly report to the Minister on the state of the health system in Ontario, and any other reports required by the Minister.

Since its inception in 2005, the Council has published three reports on Ontario's health system (entitled QMonitor). In June 2008, the Ontario government tasked the Council with measuring and reporting to the public on the quality of long-term care and resident satisfaction. In December 2008, the Council was tasked with measuring and reporting to the public on the quality of home care services and client satisfaction with these services.

The Council is also involved in supporting quality improvement in healthcare.