Minister of Veterans Affairs (Canada)

Minister of Veterans Affairs
Ministry
Federal
Incumbent Steven Blaney PC, MP
Style	The Honourable
Appointed by	David Johnston as Governor General of Canada
First	Ian Alistair Mackenzie
Formation	18 October 1944
Term length	At Her Majesty's pleasure
Website	www.vac-acc.gc.ca

Canada

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The Minister of Veterans Affairs (French: Ministre des Anciens Combattants) is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet whose position was created in 1944. The Department of Veterans Affairs Canada was split from the Department of Pensions and National Health and was given the responsibility of administering benefits and pensions for war veterans. Its first responsibility was assisting in the reintegration of demobilised soldiers into civilian life and assisting them with health care, education, employment, loans and pensions. Today the department is largely responsible for medical care and pensions for aging veterans via the Canadian Pension Commission, War Veterans Appeal Board, and Bureau of Pensions Advocates.

Ministers

1.	Ian Alistair Mackenzie	Cabinet of King	October 18, 1944 – January 18, 1948
2.	Milton Gregg	Cabinet of King	January 19, 1948 – November 15, 1948
		Cabinet of St-Laurent	November 15, 1948 – August 6, 1950
3.	Hugues Lapointe	Cabinet of St-Laurent	August 7, 1950 – June 20, 1957
4.	Alfred Johnson Brooks	Cabinet of Diefenbaker	June 21, 1957 – October 10, 1960
5.	Gordon Churchill	Cabinet of Diefenbaker	October 11, 1960 – February 11, 1963
6.	Marcel Lambert	Cabinet of Diefenbaker	February 12, 1963 – April 21, 1963
7.	Roger Teillet	Cabinet of Pearson	April 22, 1963 – April 19, 1968
		Cabinet of Trudeau	April 20, 1968 – July 5, 1968
8.	Jean-Eudes Dubé	Cabinet of Trudeau	July 6, 1968 – January 27, 1972
9.	Arthur Laing	Cabinet of Trudeau	January 28, 1972 – November 26, 1972
10.	Daniel J. MacDonald	Cabinet of Trudeau	November 27, 1972 – June 3, 1979
11.	Allan McKinnon	Cabinet of Clark	June 4, 1979 – March 2, 1980
	Daniel J. MacDonald (2nd time)	Cabinet of Trudeau	March 3, 1980 – September 30, 1980
*	Gilles Lamontagne (acting)	Cabinet of Trudeau	October 1, 1980 – September 21, 1981
12.	W. Bennett Campbell	Cabinet of Trudeau	September 22, 1981 – June 29, 1984
		Cabinet of Turner	June 30, 1984 – September 16, 1984
13.	George Hees	Cabinet of Mulroney	September 17, 1984 – September 14, 1988
14.	Gerald Stairs Merrithew	Cabinet of Mulroney	September 18, 1988 – January 3, 1993
15.	Kim Campbell	Cabinet of Mulroney	January 4, 1993 – June 24, 1993
16.	Peter McCreath	Cabinet of Campbell	June 25, 1993 – November 3, 1993
17.	David Collenette	Cabinet of Chrétien	November 4, 1993 – October 4, 1996
18.	Doug Young	Cabinet of Chrétien	October 5, 1996 – June 10, 1997
19.	Fred Mifflin	Cabinet of Chrétien	June 11, 1997 – August 2, 1999
20.	George Baker	Cabinet of Chrétien	August 3, 1999 – October 17, 2000
21.	Ron Duhamel	Cabinet of Chrétien	October 18, 2000 – January 14, 2002
22.	Rey Pagtakhan	Cabinet of Chrétien	January 15, 2002 – December 11, 2003
23.	John McCallum	Cabinet of Martin	December 12, 2003 – July 19, 2004
24.	Albina Guarnieri	Cabinet of Martin	July 20, 2004 - February 5, 2006
25.	Greg Thompson	Cabinet of Harper	February 6, 2006 - January 16, 2010
	Vacant		January 16, 2010 - January 19, 2010
26.	Jean-Pierre Blackburn	Cabinet of Harper	January 19, 2010 – May 18, 2011
27.	Steven Blaney	Cabinet of Harper	May 18, 2011 – present

Prior to 1944, the responsibilities of the current Veterans Affairs portfolio were part of the now-defunct post of Minister of Pensions and National Health.