The minister of veterans affairs () is the

minister of the Crown Minister of the Crown is a formal constitutional term used in Commonwealth realms to describe a minister of the reigning sovereign or viceroy. The term indicates that the minister serves at His Majesty's pleasure, and advises the sovereign or ...

responsible for the Veterans Affairs Canada, the department of 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-i ...

responsible for administering benefits for members and veterans of the

Canadian Armed Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

, the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal and national police service of Canada. As poli ...

, and their family members and caregivers. Since forming government in 2015,

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since ...

has appointed the minister of veterans affairs as associate minister of national defence.

History

The position was created 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 ...

in 1944. The Department of

Veterans Affairs Veterans' affairs is an area of public policy concerned with relations between a government and its communities of military veterans. Some jurisdictions have a designated government agency or department, a Department of Veterans' Affairs, Minist ...

was created out of the Department of Pensions and National Health, and was given the responsibility of administering benefits 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, income support, and pensions. The department is largely responsible for medical care, rehabilitation, and disability pensions and awards for Veterans. Appeals from departmental decisions on disability pensions and awards are presented by Veterans to the Veterans Review and Appeal Board; Veterans Affairs Canada provides Veterans appearing before the Board with the assistance of lawyers from the semi-autonomous

Bureau of Pensions Advocates The Bureau of Pensions Advocates (BPA) is a nation-wide, semi-independent law firm within Canada's Department of Veterans Affairs (also known as Veterans Affairs Canada). In place in one form or another since October 1, 1930, it provides free couns ...

free of charge.

List of ministers

Key: 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 Minister of Pensions and National Health was an office in the Cabinet of Canada from 1928 to 1944 who oversaw the Department of Pensions and National Health. Prior to 1928, certain responsibilities of the Pensions and National Health portfolio were ...

Military service

Many ministers, all of whom were officers, have had prior military experience. The posting does not, however, require prior military service.

References

{{Cabinet of Canada

Veterans' affairs in Canada

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...