{"id":58825,"date":"2024-10-17T13:47:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-17T17:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cleo.on.ca\/?post_type=publications-page&p=58825"},"modified":"2025-06-11T14:48:58","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T18:48:58","slug":"capitalization","status":"publish","type":"publications-page","link":"https:\/\/www.cleo.on.ca\/en\/publications-page\/capitalization","title":{"rendered":"Capitalization"},"content":{"rendered":"

Overview<\/h2>\n

Use judgement and be consistent when deciding when to capitalize words. Too much capitalization distracts the reader.<\/p>\n

Sometimes capitalizing a word can help avoid confusion. For example, shorten the Social Security Tribunal to Tribunal rather than tribunal.<\/p>\n

Job titles<\/h2>\n

When referring to someone\u2019s job title, capitalize the title.<\/p>\n

\n

Example:<\/span><\/strong> Jess Reekie is the Executive Director.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

For more general references, lowercase the title name.<\/p>\n

\n

Example:<\/span><\/strong> The executive director met with the funder.<\/p>\n

Example:<\/span><\/strong> Use Power of Attorney for Personal Care when referring to the proper document. But use power of attorney, when being used in a more general way. See Power of Attorney for Personal Care<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Governments and organizations<\/h2>\n

Make sure to follow the official spelling for a department, benefit, or organization.<\/p>\n

Capitalize specific levels of government, departments, and ministries.<\/p>\n

\n

Example:<\/span><\/strong> Government of Ontario<\/p>\n

Example:<\/span><\/strong> Ontario government<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

As a general rule, use lowercase for short forms, informal names, and unofficial titles, like \u201cthe department\u201d.<\/p>\n

But it may be easier for your readers if you refer to a ministry by its full name and then call it \u201cthe Ministry\u201d. The key is to be consistent in how you handle this.<\/p>\n

\n

Example:<\/span><\/strong> Ministry of Labour becomes the Ministry<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Different levels of government are often inconsistent in how they name and capitalize related benefits.<\/p>\n

\n

Example:<\/span><\/strong> Canada child benefit
Example:<\/span><\/strong> Ontario Child Benefit<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Depending on the audience, avoid using provincial government<\/strong> and federal government<\/strong>. Not all readers will understand these terms. Be more specific. Use Government of Ontario or Government of Canada.<\/p>\n

Once you identify the level of government, you can use \u201cgovernment\u201d on its own after that.<\/p>\n

Documents and forms<\/h2>\n

When referring to documents and forms, use the full name on first reference, for example, Notice of Appeal – Income Security – General Division.<\/p>\n

After that, use a shorter but capitalized version of the name, for example, Notice of Appeal or the Notice.<\/p>\n

Other<\/h2>\n

For other capitalization issues, follow the guidelines in The Canadian Press Caps and Spelling. There\u2019s a copy in the CLEO office.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-58825","publications-page","type-publications-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nCapitalization - CLEO (Community Legal Education Ontario \/ \u00c9ducation juridique communautaire Ontario)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cleo.on.ca\/en\/publications-page\/capitalization\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Capitalization - CLEO (Community Legal Education Ontario \/ \u00c9ducation juridique communautaire Ontario)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Overview Use judgement and be consistent when deciding when to capitalize words. Too much capitalization distracts the reader. 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Too much capitalization distracts the reader. Sometimes capitalizing a word can help avoid confusion. For example, shorten the Social Security Tribunal to Tribunal rather than tribunal. Job titles When referring to someone\u2019s job title, capitalize the title. 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