The minister of agriculture and agri-food () is a minister of the Crown in the Cabinet of Canada, who is responsible for overseeing several organizations including Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the Canadian Dairy Commission, Farm Credit Canada, the National Farm Products Council and the Canadian Grain Commission.
The post was established in 1995 as a successor to the minister of agriculture (), a position that existed since Canadian Confederation in 1867. The post was temporarily discontinued in 2025, being merged with the Minister of Rural Economic Development to create a new post, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Rural Economic Development.
List of ministers Key:
Minister of AgricultureNo.PortraitNameTerm of officePolitical partyMinistry 1Jean-Charles ChapaisJuly 1, 1867 November 15, 1869Conservative (historical)1 (Macdonald) 2Christopher DunkinNovember 16, 1869 October 24, 1871Conservative (historical) 3John Henry Pope(1st time)October 25, 1871 November 5, 1873Liberal-Conservative 4Luc Letellier de St-JustNovember 7, 1873 December 14, 1876Liberal2 (Mackenzie) –Isaac Burpee(Acting)December 15, 1876 January 25, 1877Liberal 5Charles Alphonse Pantaléon PelletierJanuary 25, 1877 October 8, 1878Liberal (3)John Henry Pope(2nd time)October 17, 1878 September 25, 1885Liberal-Conservative3 (Macdonald) 6John CarlingSeptember 25, 1885 June 6, 1891Conservative (historical)June 16, 1891 November 24, 18924 (Abbott) 7Auguste-Réal AngersDecember 7, 1892 December 12, 1894Conservative (historical)5 (Thompson)December 21, 1894 July 12, 18956 (Bowell) 8Joseph-Aldric Ouimet(Acting)July 13, 1895 December 20, 1895Liberal-Conservative 9Walter Humphries Montague(1st time)December 21, 1895 January 5, 1896Conservative (historical) –Donald Ferguson(Acting)January 6, 1896 January 14, 1896Conservative (historical) (9)Walter Humphries Montague(2nd time)January 15, 1896 April 27, 1896Conservative (historical)May 1, 1896 July 8, 18967 (Tupper) 10Sydney Arthur FisherJuly 13, 1896 October 6, 1911Liberal8 (Laurier) 11Martin BurrellOctober 16, 1911 October 12, 1917Conservative (historical)9 (Borden) 12Thomas Crerar(1st time)October 12, 1917 June 11, 1919Unionist10 (Borden) –James Alexander Calder(Acting)June 18, 1919 August 11, 1919Unionist 13Simon Fraser Tolmie(1st time)August 12, 1919 July 10, 1920Conservative (historical)July 10, 1920 December 29, 192111 (Meighen) 14William Richard Motherwell(1st time)December 29, 1921 June 28, 1926Liberal12 (King) –Henry Herbert Stevens(Acting)June 29, 1926 July 12, 1926Conservative (historical)13 (Meighen) (13)Simon Fraser Tolmie(2nd time)July 13, 1926 September 25, 1926Conservative (historical) (14)William Richard Motherwell(2nd time)September 25, 1926 August 7, 1930Liberal14 (King) 15Robert WeirAugust 8, 1930 October 23, 1935Conservative (historical)15 (Bennett) –Thomas Crerar(2nd time; Acting)October 25, 1935 November 3, 1935Liberal16 (King) 16James Garfield GardinerNovember 4, 1935 November 15, 1948LiberalNovember 15, 1948 June 21, 195717 (St. Laurent) 17Douglas HarknessJune 21, 1957(Acting until Aug.7) October 10, 1960Progressive Conservative18 (Diefenbaker) 18Alvin HamiltonOctober 11, 1960 April 22, 1963Progressive Conservative 19Harry HaysApril 22, 1963 December 17, 1965Liberal19 (Pearson) 20John James GreeneDecember 18, 1965 April 20, 1968LiberalApril 20, 1968 July 5, 196820 (P. E. Trudeau) 21Bud OlsonJuly 6, 1968 November 26, 1972Liberal 22Eugene Whelan(1st time)November 27, 1972 June 3, 1979Liberal 23John Wise(1st time)June 4, 1979 March 2, 1980Progressive Conservative21 (Clark)(22)Eugene Whelan(2nd time)March 3, 1980 June 29, 1984Liberal22 (P. E. Trudeau) 24Ralph FergusonJune 30, 1984 September 16, 1984Liberal23 (Turner) (23)John Wise(2nd time)September 17, 1984 September 14, 1988Progressive Conservative24 (Mulroney) 25Don MazankowskiSeptember 15, 1988 April 20, 1991Progressive Conservative 26Bill McKnightApril 21, 1991 January 3, 1993Progressive Conservative 27Charles MayerJanuary 4, 1993 June 24, 1993Progressive ConservativeJune 24, 1993 November 3, 199325 (Campbell) 28Ralph GoodaleNovember 4, 1993 January 11, 1995Liberal26 (Chrétien)Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food 28Ralph GoodaleJanuary 12, 1995 June 10, 1997Liberal26 (Chrétien) 29Lyle VancliefJune 11, 1997 December 11, 2003Liberal 30Bob SpellerDecember 12, 2003 July 19, 2004Liberal27 (Martin) 31Andy MitchellJuly 20, 2004 February 5, 2006Liberal 32Chuck StrahlFebruary 6, 2006 August 14, 2007Conservative28 (Harper) 33Gerry RitzAugust 14, 2007 November 4, 2015Conservative 34 Lawrence MacAulay(1st time) November 4, 2015 March 1, 2019 Liberal29 (J. Trudeau) 35Marie-Claude BibeauMarch 1, 2019 July 26, 2023Liberal (34) Lawrence MacAulay(2nd time) July 26, 2023 March 14, 2025LiberalPosition discontinued, replaced by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Rural Economic DevelopmentPosition re-established as Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food 36 Heath MacDonald May 13, 2025 presentLiberal30 (Carney)
See also Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food (Canada)
References
External links Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food (Canada)