Minister of Transport (Canada)#Minister of Railways and Canals (1879-1936)

{{Infobox official post

| post = Minister

| native_name = {{small|{{nobold|{{lang|fr|Ministre des Transports}}}}}}

| flag =

| flagsize = 200px

| flagcaption =

| insignia =

| insigniasize =

| insigniacaption =

| image = Chrystia Freeland 2023 (cropped).jpg

| incumbent = Chrystia Freeland

| incumbentsince = 14 March 2025

| department = Transport Canada

| style = The Honourable

| member_of = {{hlist|Cabinet|Privy Council}}

| reports_to = {{hlist|Parliament|Prime Minister}}

| residence =

| seat =

| nominator =

| appointer = Monarch (represented by the governor general)

| appointer_qualified = on the advice of the prime minister

| termlength = genderp=~}}}} Majesty's pleasure

| termlength_qualified =

| precursor = Minister of Railways and Canals

Minister of Marine

| formation = 2 November 1936

| inaugural = C. D. Howe

| deputy = Deputy Minister of Transport

| salary = $299,900 (2024){{cite web|url=https://lop.parl.ca/sites/ParlInfo/default/en_CA/People/Salaries|title=Indemnities, Salaries and Allowances|publisher=Parliament of Canada}}

| website = [http://www.tc.gc.ca/ www.tc.gc.ca]

| body = Transport

}}

The minister of transport ({{langx|fr|ministre des transports}}) is a minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet. The minister is responsible for overseeing the federal government's transportation regulatory and development department, Transport Canada, the Saint Lawrence Seaway, Nav Canada, and the Port Authority system.{{Cite web|url=https://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/aboutus-abouttc.html|title=The Transport Canada Portfolio|website=Transport Canada|date=21 June 2019 |access-date=2019-11-07}} Since March 14, 2025, the position has been held by Chrystia Freeland of the Liberal Party. Since December 20, 2024, each minister of transport has concurrently been minister for internal trade, styled as minister of transport and internal trade ({{langx|fr|ministre des transports et du commerce intérieur}}).

History

The Constitution Act, 1867 under section 92(10) established federal responsibility for land and sea transportation between provinces and internationally. Most transportation duties and powers were placed under the minister of public works,{{Cite canlaw|short title =An Act respecting the office of Receiver-General and Minister of Public Works|abbr =S.C.|year =31 Victoria|chapter =12|section =12|link =http://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_08050_1_1/261?r=0&s=1|linkloc =Canadiana Online}} with responsibilities for ports and harbours going to the minister of marine and fisheries.{{Cite canlaw|short title =An Act for the organization of the Department of Marine and Fisheries of Canada|abbr =S.C.|year =31 Victoria|chapter =57|schedule=1|link =http://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_08050_1_2/164?r=0&s=1|linkloc =Canadiana Online}} In 1879, the Department of Public Works was divided in two, with powers and duties over rail and inland sea transport going to the newly formed minister of railways and canals.{{Cite canlaw|short title =An Act respecting the offices of Receiver-General and Minister of Public Works|abbr =S.C.|year =42 Victoria|chapter =7|section=4-5|link =http://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_08051_8_1/150?r=0&s=1|linkloc =Canadiana Online}} The minister of railways and canals was one of the most important cabinet posts because of the importance of railways to the economic development of Canada, with three prime ministers assuming the position either before or during their premiership.

In Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King's third cabinet in 1935, C. D. Howe was appointed to both the minister of railways and canals and the minister of marine, which was a short-lived position split from the minister of marine and fisheries in 1930.{{cite web|url=https://guide-ministries.canada.ca/dtail.asp?lang=eng&mstyid=14&mbtpid=1|title=Fourteenth Ministry – The Ministries – Guide to Canadian Ministries since Confederation|publisher=Privy Council Office}} The office of Minister of Transport was created by Mackenzie King in 1936, which was formally a successor to the minister of railways and canals,{{Cite canlaw|short title =The Department of Transport Act, 1936|abbr =S.C.|year =1 Edward VIII|chapter =34|link =https://archive.org/details/actsofparl1936v01cana/page/212|linkloc =Internet Archive}} and C. D. Howe was appointed as the first Minister of Transport.{{cite web|url=https://guide-ministries.canada.ca/dtail.asp?lang=eng&mstyid=16&mbtpid=1|title=Sixteenth Ministry – The Ministries – Guide to Canadian Ministries since Confederation|publisher=Privy Council Office}}

From 2006 to 2013, the position was styled Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, a name change corresponding with responsibility for Infrastructure Canada being transferred to the portfolio at that time. "Minister of Transport" remained the title for legal purposes. With the Cabinet shuffle of July 15, 2013, Infrastructure and Communities portfolio was separated from Transport and assigned to the minister of intergovernmental affairs.Technically it was assigned to the President of the Privy Council, which also had responsibility for intergovernmental affairs. http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/oic-ddc.asp?lang=eng&txtToDate=2013-07-15&txtPrecis=&Page=&txtOICID=&txtAct=&txtBillNo=&txtFromDate=2013-07-15&txtDepartment=&txtChapterNo=&txtChapterYear=&rdoComingIntoForce=&DoSearch=Search+/+List&pg=2&viewattach=28125&blnDisplayFlg=1

Transport Canada used to manage most of Canada's major airports, but in the 1990s, most airports were off-loaded to non-profit private airport authorities. The department is now responsible for transportation safety, appointments to Boards of Governors, and regulation management.

Portfolio

In addition to Transport Canada, the minister of transport is responsible for overseeing 55 other entities, the majority of which are port authorities and airport authorities:

Transport Canada
Shared governance organizations:
18 port authorities
21 airport authorities
Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority
Nav Canada
St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation
Crown corporations:
Atlantic Pilotage Authority
Canadian Air Transport Security Authority
Federal Bridge Corporation
Great Lakes Pilotage Authority
Laurentian Pilotage Authority
Marine Atlantic
Pacific Pilotage Authority
Via Rail
Other entities:
Canadian Transportation Agency
Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund
The Fund for Railway Accidents Involving Designated Goods
Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada

Minister of Railways and Canals (1879–1936)

Key:

{{legend|{{Canadian party colour|CA|Liberal}}|Liberal Party of Canada|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{{legend|{{Canadian party colour|CA|Conservative (historical)}}|Historical conservative parties: Liberal-Conservative, Conservative (historical), Unionist, National Liberal and Conservative|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

class="wikitable"

!colspan=2|Portrait

!Name

!colspan=2|Term of office

!Political party

!Ministry

style="background:{{Canadian party colour|CA|Conservative (historical)}}" |

| align=center | 75x150px

| Sir Charles Tupper

| 20 May 1879

28 May 1884

| Liberal-Conservative

| rowspan=6 | 3 (Macdonald){{cite web|url=https://guide-ministries.canada.ca/dtail.asp?lang=eng&mstyid=3&mbtpid=1|title=Third Ministry – The Ministries – Guide to Canadian Ministries since Confederation|publisher=Privy Council Office}}

style="background:{{Canadian party colour|CA|Conservative (historical)}}" |

| align=center | 75x150px

| John Henry Pope (acting)

| 29 May 1884

24 September 1885

| Liberal-Conservative

style="background:{{Canadian party colour|CA|Conservative (historical)}}" |

| align=center | 75x150px

| John Henry Pope

| 25 September 1885

1 April 1889

| Liberal-Conservative

| 75x150px

| vacant

| 2 April 1889

9 April 1889

| –

style="background:{{Canadian party colour|CA|Conservative (historical)}}" |

| align=center | 75x150px

| John A. Macdonald (acting)

| 10 April 1889

27 November 1889

| Liberal-Conservative

style="background:{{Canadian party colour|CA|Conservative (historical)}}" |

| align=center | 75x150px

| John A. Macdonald

| 28 November 1889

6 June 1891

| Liberal-Conservative

| 75x150px

| vacant

| 7 June 1891

16 June 1891

| –

| rowspan=3 | 4 (Abbott){{cite web|url=https://guide-ministries.canada.ca/dtail.asp?lang=eng&mstyid=4&mbtpid=1|title=Fourth Ministry – The Ministries – Guide to Canadian Ministries since Confederation|publisher=Privy Council Office}}

style="background:{{Canadian party colour|CA|Conservative (historical)}}" |

| align=center | 75x150px

| Mackenzie Bowell (acting)

| 17 June 1891

10 January 1892

| Conservative (historical)

rowspan=3 style="background:{{Canadian party colour|CA|Conservative (historical)}}" |

| rowspan=3 align=center | 75x150px

| rowspan=3 | John Graham Haggart

| 11 January 1892

4 December 1892

| rowspan=3 | Conservative (historical)

5 December 1892

20 December 1894

| 5 (Thompson){{cite web|url=https://guide-ministries.canada.ca/dtail.asp?lang=eng&mstyid=5&mbtpid=1|title=Fifth Ministry – The Ministries – Guide to Canadian Ministries since Confederation|publisher=Privy Council Office}}

21 December 1894

5 January 1896

| rowspan=3 | 6 (Bowell){{cite web|url=https://guide-ministries.canada.ca/dtail.asp?lang=eng&mstyid=6&mbtpid=1|title=Sixth Ministry – The Ministries – Guide to Canadian Ministries since Confederation|publisher=Privy Council Office}}

style="background:{{Canadian party colour|CA|Conservative (historical)}}" |

| align=center | 75x150px

| Joseph-Aldric Ouimet (acting)

| 6 January 1896

14 January 1896

| Conservative (historical)

rowspan=2 style="background:{{Canadian party colour|CA|Conservative (historical)}}" |

| rowspan=2 align=center | 75x150px

| rowspan=2 | John Graham Haggart

| 15 January 1896

30 April 1896

| rowspan=2 | Conservative (historical)

1 May 1896

8 July 1896

| 7 (Tupper){{cite web|url=https://guide-ministries.canada.ca/dtail.asp?lang=eng&mstyid=7&mbtpid=1|title=Seventh Ministry – The Ministries – Guide to Canadian Ministries since Confederation|publisher=Privy Council Office}}

| 75x150px

| vacant

| 6 January 1896

14 January 1896

| –

| rowspan=7 | 8 (Laurier){{cite web|url=https://guide-ministries.canada.ca/dtail.asp?lang=eng&mstyid=8&mbtpid=1|title=Eighth Ministry – The Ministries – Guide to Canadian Ministries since Confederation|publisher=Privy Council Office}}

style="background:{{Canadian party colour|CA|Liberal}}" |

| align=center | 75x150px

| Andrew George Blair

| 20 July 1896

20 July 1903

Minister of Transport (Canada)#Minister of Railways and Canals (1879-1936)

History

Portfolio

Minister of Railways and Canals (1879–1936)

Minister of Marine (1930–1936)

Minister of Transport (1936–present)

See also

References