The Minister of Finance (French: Ministre des Finances) is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible each year for presenting the federal government's budget. It is one of the most important positions in the Cabinet.
Because of the prominence and responsibility on this cabinet position, it is not uncommon for former Finance Ministers to be elected Prime Minister. Paul Martin (Prime Minister of Canada prior to Stephen Harper) was the fifth Prime Minister who was previously a finance minister; the others were Sir Charles Tupper, R.B. Bennett, John Turner, and Jean Chrétien.
The current Minister of Finance is Joe Oliver.
Responsibilities
In addition to being the head of the Department of Finance, the Minister is also the government’s lead in overseeing the:
- Bank of Canada
- Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation
- Canada Development Investment Corporation
- Canada Pension Plan Investment Board
- Canadian International Trade Tribunal
- Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions
- Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada
- Mission to the International Monetary Fund, for which s/he is "Governor" voter
List of Ministers
Key:
See also
- Department of Finance Canada
- New shoes on budget day (A tradition among Ministers of Finance)
External links
- Department of Finance Canada