Edgar John "Ben" Benson , (May 28, 1923 – September 2, 2011) 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 A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

, businessman, diplomat, and university professor. He held four cabinet posts, most notably that of

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

under Pierre Trudeau, where he was instrumental in reforming Canada's income tax law. He was described as "Pierre Trudeau's unflappable finance minister, the pipe-smoking financial wizard who raised the ire of corporate Canada in the 1970s by bringing in a

capital gains tax A capital gains tax (CGT) is the tax on profits realized on the sale of a non-inventory asset. The most common capital gains are realized from the sale of stocks, bonds, precious metals, real estate, and property. Not all countries impose a c ...

Early years

After serving overseas in the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

as a sergeant in the

Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery , colors = The guns of the RCA themselves , colors_label = Colours , march = * Slow march: "Royal Artillery Slow March" * Quick march (dismounted parades): " British Grenadiers/ Th ...

, Benson attended Queen's University in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between To ...

, where he obtained his

Bachelor of Commerce A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BComm or BCom; also, ''baccalaureates commercii'') is an undergraduate degree in business, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa, Myanmar, ...

degree. He became a chartered accountant and partner in the accounting firm of England, Leonard, Macpherson and Company, and co-owner of CKLC. Prior to his entry into politics, he also taught Business Administration at Queen's, in the capacity of

Assistant Professor Assistant Professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States and Canada. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doctoral degree A docto ...

of Commerce.

Political life

He was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1962 general election 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 o ...

(MP) for

. Initially appointed in 1962 as Parliamentary Secretary to then

Walter Gordon, he entered the Cabinet of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Lester Pearson in 1964 as

Minister of National Revenue The minister of national revenue (french: ministre du revenu national) is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), as well as the administration of taxation law and collection. T ...

, and served concurrently from 1966 to 1968 as the first

President of the Treasury Board The president of the Treasury Board () is a minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet. The president is the chair of the Treasury Board of Canada (a committee of Cabinet in the Privy Council) and is the minister responsible for the Treasury ...

. He was an early supporter of Pierre Trudeau in the 1968 Liberal leadership campaign to replace the retiring Pearson, and, together with

Jean Marchand Jean Marchand, (December 20, 1918 – August 28, 1988) was a French Canadian public figure, trade unionist and politician in Quebec, Canada. Life and career During the 1949 Asbestos Strike in Quebec, Marchand led the striking workers as ...

, was co-chairman of Trudeau's leadership bid. He was later appointed

, serving from 1968 to 1972.

Tax reform (1971)

Benson's balanced budget for 1969-70 would be the last until

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. The son o ...

's budget of 1997-98. Later in 1969, he introduced his

white paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white pape ...

on Canadian tax reform, which paved the way for: :* a

:* a

tax deduction Tax deduction is a reduction of income that is able to be taxed and is commonly a result of expenses, particularly those incurred to produce additional income. Tax deductions are a form of tax incentives, along with exemptions and tax credits. T ...

for

child care Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...

as a means of helping mothers enter the

workforce The workforce or labour force is a concept referring to the pool of human beings either in employment or in unemployment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single company or industry, but can also apply to a geographic reg ...

:* greater use of Registered Retirement Savings Plans The proposals were subjected to intensive debate that lasted more than a year. Those concerning the capital gains tax were severely criticized by the business community, particularly

Israel Asper Israel Harold "Izzy" Asper (August 11, 1932– October 7, 2003) was a Canadian tax lawyer and media magnate. He was the founder and owner of the now-defunct TV and media company CanWest Global Communications Corp and father to its former CEO ...

, who condemned the measure. The reforms were only passed after significant amendment, and even then only through the use of closure. They came into effect on January 1, 1972, as prescribed by the 1971 Canadian federal budget

Marc Lalonde Marc Lalonde (; born July 26, 1929) is a retired Canadian politician and cabinet minister. Life and career Lalonde was born in Île Perrot, Quebec, and obtained a Master of Laws degree from the Université de Montréal, a master's degree from ...

, a colleague and future Finance Minister, later said, "He was in finance at a critical time, he revolutionized the system. He launched a revolution. It was a revolution, a necessary step and a demanding task. What he did was economically justified. The basic tax structure that he put in place is still alive. No one has really touched it since."

Impact

He was also instrumental in rolling out a national medical care plan and supplementary old age pensions and played a key role in federal-provincial relations. Benson wore a pair of new shoes on budget day in

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

, although he said, "He didn't buy them just for the budget." The following year he did not wear new shoes when delivering the budget, saying jokingly that he couldn't afford them, and in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

proudly displayed his worn soles on budget day. He later served as Minister of National Defence from January to August 1972, when he retired from politics, choosing not to run in the 1972 election.

Later life and death

Benson served as President of the

Canadian Transport Commission The Canadian Transport Commission (CTC) was Canada's first fully converged, multi-modal regulator. The body was created by Canada's Parliament on September 19, 1967, to assume the responsibilities of two bodies: the Board of Transport Commissioner ...

from 1972 to 1982, and as Canadian Ambassador to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

from 1982 to 1985. He died on September 2, 2011 at the age of 88.

Honours

Benson was conferred honorary degrees as a

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor ...

from: :*

Royal Military College of Canada '') , established = 1876 , type = Military academy , chancellor = Anita Anand ('' la, ex officio, label=none'' as Defence Minister) , principal = Harry Kowal , head_label ...

in 1973 :* Queen's University in 2008

Electoral record

Kingston

Kingston and the Islands Kingston and the Islands (french: Kingston et les Îles) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968. It covers part of the city of Kingston, Ontario and the sparse ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Benson, Edgar 1923 births 2011 deaths Canadian Ministers of Finance Defence ministers of Canada Canadian Protestants Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the 19th Canadian Ministry Members of the 20th Canadian Ministry Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery personnel Members of the United Church of Canada People from Kingston, Ontario Queen's University at Kingston alumni Queen's University at Kingston faculty People from Cobourg Ambassadors of Canada to Ireland Canadian Army personnel of World War II Canadian Army soldiers