Minister_of_Defence_(Canada)

Minister of National Defence (Canada)

Minister of National Defence (Canada)

Minister of National Defence

The minister of national defence (MND; French: ministre de la défense nationale) is a minister of the Crown in the Cabinet of Canada responsible for the management and direction of all matters relating to the national defence of Canada.[6]

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The Department of National Defence is headed by the deputy minister of national defence (the department's senior civil servant), while the Canadian Armed Forces are headed by the chief of the defence staff (the senior serving military officer).[7] Both are responsible to the minister of national defence. The King (represented by the governor general of Canada) is Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces and has final authority on all orders and laws for the "defence of the realm".[8][9]

The minister is responsible, through the tenets of responsible government, to Parliament for "the management and direction of the Canadian Forces". Any orders and instructions for the Canadian Armed Forces are issued by or through the chief of the defence staff.[10] The Department of National Defence exists to aid the minister in carrying out her responsibilities, and acts as the civilian support system for the Canadian Forces.[11][12]

The current minister of national defence is Bill Blair. The parliamentary secretary, who represents the minister when he is away from the House of Commons, is Bryan May.

History

On 1 January 1923, the National Defence Act, 1922 came into effect, merging the Department of Militia and Defence, the Department of the Naval Service, and the Air Board to form the Department of National Defence. The ministerial heads of the former departments, the minister of militia and defence, the minister of the naval service, and the minister of aviation were merged to form a new position, the minister of national defence.

During the Second World War, the minister of national defence was assisted by two subordinate ministers. The minister of national defence for air was an additional minister in the Department of National Defence responsible for the Royal Canadian Air Force; while the minister of national defence for naval services was another minister in the Department of National Defence responsible for the Royal Canadian Navy. The air and naval post was reincorporated into the portfolio of the minister of national defence following the Second World War.

The Munsinger affair was Canada's first national political sex scandal in 1966. The affair involved Gerda Munsinger, a German citizen who had been convicted in Germany as a common prostitute, a petty thief and a smuggler, who emigrated to Canada in 1956 in spite of a warning card dated 1952, and who was in 1960 the mistress of the former Associate Minister of National Defence Pierre Sévigny. Munsinger was "a self-admitted espionage agent" in the employ of the "Russian Intelligence Service".[13]

Canadian military spending
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Military spending: as percent share of GDP (1950–2020)[14]
Canadian military spending
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Military spending: Constant 2019 USD million (1953–2020)[15]

The Defence Portfolio

The Defence Portfolio is a collection of organizations and agencies that report to the minister of national defence. Although deputy heads for individual agencies direct and oversee the activities of their agency, the minister is accountable to Parliament its activities.[16] The Defence Portfolio includes:[17]

The minister of national defence is also the designated lead minister for search and rescue (LMSAR) within the federal government.

List of ministers

Key:

  Liberal Party of Canada
  Historical conservative parties: Liberal-Conservative, Conservative (historical), Unionist, National Liberal and Conservative, Progressive Conservative
  Conservative Party of Canada
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Ministers with military experience

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Bill Graham was enrolled under the University Naval Training Division of the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve and received commission as sub lieutenant in 1960. Graham did not serve in the Navy following his commission and thus does not have military experience.

See also

References

  1. [1]
    "The Canadian Parliamentary system - Our Procedure - House of Commons". www.ourcommons.ca. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  2. [2]
    "Review of the Responsibilities and Accountabilities of Ministers and Senior Officials" (PDF).
  3. [3]
    "Constitutional Duties". The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  4. [4]
    "House of Commons Procedure and Practice - 1. Parliamentary Institutions - Canadian Parliamentary Institutions". www.ourcommons.ca. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  5. [5]
    "Indemnities, Salaries and Allowances". Library of Parliament. April 11, 2018. Archived from the original on June 1, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  6. [6]
    "Laws Defining Responsibilities and Authorities of National Defence". Department of National Defence. March 25, 2010. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved March 8, 2012.
  7. [7]
    "About DND - What is the relationship between DND and the Canadian Forces?". Department of National Defence. February 1, 2012. Archived from the original on March 1, 2012. Retrieved March 8, 2012.
  8. [8]
    Lagassé, Philippe (December 2013). "The Crown's Powers of Command-in Chief: Interpreting Section 15 of Canada's Constitution Act, 1867" (PDF). Review of Constitutional Studies. 18 (2): 189–220.
  9. [9]
    Federal Court of Canada (21 January 2008), In the Matter of Aralt Mac Giolla Chainnigh v. the Attorney-General of Canada (PDF), T-1809-06; 38, Ottawa: Queen's Printer for Canada, p. 5, 2008 FC 69, retrieved 7 February 2008
  10. [10]
    National Defence Act. Ottawa: Her Majesty the Queen as represented by the Minister of Justice. 2011. pp. 8, 12.
  11. [11]
    "FAQ - What is the relationship between DND and the CF?". Department of National Defence. February 13, 2012. Archived from the original on March 16, 2012. Retrieved March 8, 2012.
  12. [12]
    "Civilians Supporting the Army". Department of National Defence. August 5, 2011. Archived from the original on May 16, 2013. Retrieved March 8, 2012.
  13. [13]
    Spence, Wishart Flett (September 1966). "Commission of Inquiry into Matters Relating to One Gerda Munsinger". Ottawa: Queen's Printer.
  14. [14]
    "Military expenditure by country as percentage of gross domestic product, 1949-2020" (XLSX). Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. 26 April 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  15. [15]
    "Military expenditure by country, in constant (2019) US$ m., 1949-2020" (XLSX). Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. 26 April 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  16. [16]
    "Defence Portfolio". National Defence. 2013-02-19. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  17. [17]
    "The Defence Portfolio". Department of National Defence. August 5, 2011. Archived from the original on January 7, 2012. Retrieved March 8, 2012.
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