Edgar Benson | |
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Minister of National Defence | |
In office January 28, 1972 – August 31, 1972 | |
Prime Minister | Pierre Trudeau |
Preceded by | Donald Macdonald |
Succeeded by | Jean-Eudes Dubé (acting) |
Minister of Finance | |
In office April 20, 1968 – January 28, 1972 | |
Prime Minister | Pierre Trudeau |
Preceded by | Mitchell Sharp |
Succeeded by | John Turner |
President of the Treasury Board | |
In office October 1, 1966 – July 5, 1968 | |
Prime Minister | Lester B. Pearson Pierre Trudeau |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Charles Drury |
Minister of National Revenue | |
In office June 29, 1964 – January 17, 1968 | |
Prime Minister | Lester B. Pearson |
Preceded by | George McIlraith (acting) |
Succeeded by | Jean Chrétien |
Member of Parliament for Kingston (1962–1968); Kingston and the Islands (1968–1972) | |
In office June 18, 1962 – October 29, 1972 | |
Preceded by | Benjamin Graydon Allmark |
Succeeded by | Flora MacDonald |
Personal details | |
Born | Edgar John Benson May 28, 1923 Cobourg, Ontario, Canada |
Died | September 2, 2011 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | (aged 88)
Resting place | Beechwood Cemetery |
Political party | Liberal |
Spouse(s) | Marie Louise van Laer (1946–1974) Mary Jane Binks (1987–2011) |
Alma mater | Queen's University |
Profession | Chartered Accountant |
Military service | |
Branch/service | Canadian Army |
Years of service | 1941–1946 |
Rank | Sergeant |
Unit | 1st Survey Regiment, RCA I Canadian Corps |
Edgar John "Ben" Benson PC FCA (May 28, 1923 – September 2, 2011) was a Canadian politician, businessman, diplomat, and university professor. He held four cabinet posts, most notably that of Minister of Finance under Pierre Trudeau, where he was instrumental in reforming Canada's income tax law.[1] He was described as "Pierre Trudeau's unflappable finance minister, the pipe-smoking financial wizard who raised the ire of corporate Canada in the 1970s by bringing in a capital gains tax."[1]