Daniel Joseph MacDonald, (July 23, 1918 – September 30, 1980) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician from

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

. He served as Minister of Veterans Affairs from 1972 to 1979 and again in 1980 until his death.

Life

He was born on his family's farm in

Bothwell Bothwell is a conservation village in the South Lanarkshire council area of Scotland. It lies on the north bank of the River Clyde, adjacent to Uddingston and Hamilton, east-south-east of Glasgow city centre. Description and history An ancie ...

and was educated in a one-room schoolhouse. At the age of 20, he bought his own farm at Bothwell Beach. In 1940, he enlisted in

The Prince Edward Island Highlanders The Prince Edward Island Highlanders was an infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. In 1946, the regiment was amalgamated with The Prince Edward Island Light Horse to form The Prince Edward Island Regiment (RCAC). Lineage The Prince Edward Isl ...

to fight in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was transferred to the

Cape Breton Highlanders , colors = Facing colour yellow , colors_label = Colours , march = Quick – "Highland Laddie" , mascot = , battles = First World ...

in 1943 and fought with the rank of

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, where he was wounded during the assault on the

Gothic Line The Gothic Line (german: Gotenstellung; it, Linea Gotica) was a German Defense line, defensive line of the Italian Campaign (World War II), Italian Campaign of World War II. It formed Generalfeldmarschall, Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's la ...

. He returned to his unit after a few weeks and was seriously wounded on December 21, 1944, during the Battle of Senio River. As a result, his left arm and leg were amputated. Undiscouraged by his injuries, he returned to his farm, married a local woman named Pauline Peters, built a house, and raised seven children: Blair, Heather, Gail, Daniel, Leo, Walter, and Gloria. The singer-songwriter

Jenn Grant Jenn Grant (born August 20, 1980) is a Canadian folk pop singer-songwriter based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Career ''Jenn Grant and Goodbye Twentieth Century'' She performed as a musician for a time in her early teens, but stopped due to a bo ...

is a granddaughter.

Political career

In 1962, he was elected to the

Prince Edward Island House of Assembly A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

and sat in the body for ten years. He served as Minister of Agriculture and Forestry from 1966 to 1972, when he resigned to run in the 1972 federal election. Elected as the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Cardigan, he was appointed to the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada The prime mini ...

as Minister of Veterans Affairs. He was defeated in the 1979 federal election but returned in the 1980 election and was then reappointed to the Veterans Affairs portfolio. MacDonald reformed veterans' pensions to make them more generous and introduced disability pensions and pensions for

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

. In the late 1970s, Prime Minister

Pierre Elliott Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and ...

undertook an initiative to decentralize government away from Ottawa. He and MacDonald devised the plan to move the headquarters of the Department of Veterans Affairs from Ottawa to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The department's head office, along with the

Veterans Review and Appeal Board The Veterans Review and Appeal Board (VRAB; french: Tribunal des anciens combattants (révision et appel)) is a government of Canada government agency, agency responsible for hearing (law), hearing reviews and appeals by ill and injured Veterans a ...

, have been located in the Daniel J. MacDonald Building (the "DJM") in PEI's capital ever since. (In the early 21st century, a second building two blocks from the DJM, the

Jean Canfield Ella Jean Canfield, née Garrett (October 4, 1919 – December 31, 2000) was a Canadian politician."Involvement's the thing: minister". ''Ottawa Citizen'', April 12, 1973. She was the first woman ever elected to the Legislative Assembly of Pr ...

Building (the "JCB"), was constructed to house other federal government offices, including some from Veterans Affairs Canada.) The department has become a major economic contributor to PEI, and has had an important impact on Charlottetown's cultural landscape. MacDonald died in office on September 30, 1980 and was given a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

. The eulogy was given by Prime Minister Trudeau at St. Dunstan's Cathedral, in

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in ...

Electoral history

References

Department of Veterans Affairs biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, Daniel J. 1918 births 1980 deaths People from Kings County, Prince Edward Island Canadian Roman Catholics Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Prince Edward Island Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Liberal Party of Canada MPs Prince Edward Island Liberal Party MLAs Members of the Executive Council of Prince Edward Island Canadian Army personnel of World War II Canadian Army soldiers