The minister of employment, workforce development and disability inclusion () is the
minister of the Crown in the
Canadian Cabinet
The Cabinet of Canada (french: Cabinet du Canada) is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada. Chaired by the prime minister, the ...
who is responsible for
Employment and Social Development Canada
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC; french: Emploi et Développement social Canada; french: EDSC, label=none)''Employment and Social Development Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is De ...
, the
Government of Canada
The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...
department that oversees programs such as
employment insurance
Unemployment benefits, also called unemployment insurance, unemployment payment, unemployment compensation, or simply unemployment, are payments made by authorized bodies to unemployed people. In the United States, benefits are funded by a compu ...
, the
Canada pension plan,
old age security
The Old Age Security (OAS) (SV; french: Sécurité de la vieillesse) program is a universal retirement pension available to most residents and citizens of Canada who have reached 65 years old. This pension is supplemented by the Guaranteed Income ...
, and
Canada student loans
Government sponsored Student Loans in Canada was designed to help post-secondary students pay for their education in Canada. The federal government funds the Canada Student Loan Program (CSLP) and the provinces may fund their own programs or be int ...
.
History
The ministerial responsibility for employment has its origins in the October 1, 1966
cabinet reshuffle
A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet, or when the Head of State changes the head of government and a number of ministers. They are more common in parli ...
, when
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 ...
's portfolio was renamed from
Minister of Immigration and Citizenship to
Minister of Manpower and Immigration, Along with this change, minister Marchand was tasked by
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 to draft a
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 ...
to renew Canada's immigration policy. Pearson wanted to removed all discriminatory clauses remaining in Canada's immigration regulations, and instead facilitate the immigration of qualified workers from Asia.
The following year, Canada introduced its first point system to rank potential immigrants for eligibility. It originally consisted of 9 categories: education, occupation, professional skills, age, arranged employment, knowledge of English and/or French, relatives in Canada and “personal characteristics”. To qualify for immigration 50 points out of 100 were necessary in 1967.
In 1977, the portfolio was renamed
Minister of Employment and Immigration, a move that reflected the importance of attracting and retaining economic immigrants for Canadian governments in the 1980s and 1990s.
On 12 July 1996, the office of the Minister of Employment and Immigration was abolished and replaced with the office of Minister of Human Resources Development. The portfolio for immigration was transferred to the office of
Minister of Citizenship and Immigration following the reorganization of the government and formation of the department for
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC; french: Immigration, Réfugiés et Citoyenneté Canada)Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program since 2015; the legal title is Departm ...
.
[Employment and Immigration (1977-08-15 - 1996-07-11)]
" ''ParlInfo''. Ottawa: Library of Parliament
The Library of Parliament (french: Bibliothèque du Parlement) is the main information repository and research resource for the Parliament of Canada. The main branch of the library sits at the rear of the Centre Block on Parliament Hill in Otta ...
. Retrieved 2020 October 30.[Order Transferring to the Department of Employment and Immigration...and Transferring to the Minister of Employment and Immigration...and Combining the Department of Employment and Immigration and the Department of Labour Under the Minister of Employment and Immigration]
"
" Library of Congress.
On February 6, 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper transferred the responsibilities of the
Minister of Social Development into this portfolio. Although the legislated names did not change, in accordance with this amalgamation the Minister was for a while styled the ''Minister of Human Resources and Social Development'' and the department
operated as ''Human Resources and Social Development Canada''. This ceased on October 30, 2008, and the name returned to the legislated one.
In 2015, the Employment portfolio was merged into the expanded ministry of ''Employment, Workforce, and Labour''.
In 2019, following the
2019 Canadian federal election, the portfolio was split between the
Minister of Labour Minister of Labour (in British English) or Labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...
Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, with Carla Qualtrough being appointed the new minister on November 20.
List of ministers
Notes
Further reading
*
{{Cabinet of Canada
Employment Workforce And Labour
Labour relations in Canada