Lawrence MacAulay

{{Short description|Canadian politician (born 1946)}}

{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix = The Honourable

| name = Lawrence MacAulay

| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|size=100%}}

| image = Lawrence McAulay 01-14-2016.jpg

| caption = MacAulay in 2016

| office = Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

| term_start = July 26, 2023

| term_end = March 14, 2025

| primeminister = Justin Trudeau

| predecessor = Marie-Claude Bibeau

| successor = Kody Blois

| term_start1 = November 4, 2015

| term_end1 = March 1, 2019

| primeminister1 = Justin Trudeau

| predecessor1 = Gerry Ritz

| successor1 = Marie-Claude Bibeau

| office2 = Minister of Veterans Affairs
Associate Minister of National Defence

| term_start2 = March 1, 2019

| term_end2 = July 26, 2023

| primeminister2 = Justin Trudeau

| predecessor2 = Jody Wilson-Raybould

| successor2 = Ginette Petitpas Taylor

| office4 = Solicitor General of Canada

| term_start4 = November 23, 1998

| term_end4 = October 22, 2002

| primeminister4 = Jean Chrétien

| predecessor4 = Andy Scott

| successor4 = Wayne Easter

| office5 = Minister of Labour

| term_start5 = June 11, 1997

| term_end5 = November 23, 1998

| primeminister5 = Jean Chrétien

| predecessor5 = Alfonso Gagliano

| successor5 = Claudette Bradshaw

| riding6 = Cardigan

| parliament6 = Canadian

| term_start6 = November 21, 1988

| term_end6 =

| predecessor6 = Pat Binns

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1946|9|9}}

| birth_place = St. Peters Bay, Prince Edward Island, Canada

| profession = {{hlist|Politician|farmer}}

| party = Liberal

| residence = St. Peters Bay

}}

Lawrence A. MacAulay {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC}} (born September 9, 1946) is a Canadian politician, who represented the riding of Cardigan, Prince Edward Island in the House of Commons from 1988 until 2025.

On June 11, 1997, he joined the cabinet of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien as Minister of Labour and Minister responsible for Prince Edward Island. In 1998, he was appointed Solicitor General of Canada and served in that role until his resignation from Cabinet on October 21, 2002, during a conflict of interest inquiry.{{Cite web|url=https://lop.parl.ca/sites/ParlInfo/default/en_CA/People/Profile?personId=11677|title=Profile}} MacAuley served as a Liberal backbench member of Parliament (MP) through the rest of the Liberal years in power and as an opposition member during the Conservative government led by Stephen Harper (2006–2015). He is the former Secretary of State (Veterans) and Secretary of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency). He was also the Official Opposition Critic for Seniors.

On March 20, 2014, MacAulay became the longest-serving MP in the history of Prince Edward Island, surpassing the record previously set by Angus MacLean.{{cite web | url=http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/news/local/cardigan-mp-lawrence-macaulay-breaks-political-record-96426/ | title=Cardigan MP Lawrence MacAulay breaks political record | publisher=The Charlottetown Guardian | date=March 20, 2014 | access-date=November 29, 2017 | author=Sharratt, Steve}}

On November 4, 2015, he was appointed the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food by the new prime minister Justin Trudeau. On March 1, 2019, Trudeau shuffled his cabinet, appointing MacAulay as Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence. On July 26, 2023, Trudeau shuffled his cabinet, appointing MacAulay as Minister of Agriculture for the second time.{{cite web|title='Trudeau overhauls his cabinet, drops 7 ministers and shuffles most portfolios |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/cabinet-shuffle-trudeau-1.6916367/ |website=cbc.ca |date=2023-07-26}}

On March 1, 2025, MacAulay announced that he won't be seeking re-election in 2025 for Cardigan.{{Cite web |last=McKenna |first=Kate |date=March 1, 2025 |title=After 11 election wins, Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay is retiring |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-politics-lawrence-macaulay-pei-mp-retiring-1.7471358 |website=CBC News}}

MacAulay lives in Prince Edward Island with his wife, Frances.