The minister of Canadian heritage (french: ministre du patrimoine canadien) is the
minister of the Crown who heads
Canadian Heritage, the department of the
Government of Canada
The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...
responsible for
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...
,
media
Media may refer to:
Communication
* Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data
** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising
** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...
,
sports
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...
, and the
arts
The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both ...
.
History
The position was created in 1996 to combine the posts of
minister of multiculturalism and citizenship and
minister of communications. The "status of women" was merged from the
minister responsible for the status of women in 2006. In 2008, the status of women portfolio was transferred to a
minister of state
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ...
.
On August 16, 2013, the multiculturalism portfolio was assigned to
Jason Kenney
Jason Thomas Kenney (born May 30, 1968) is a Canadian former politician who served as the 18th premier of Alberta from 2019 until 2022 and the leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) from 2017 until 2022. He also served as the member of ...
, who was appointed
minister for multiculturalism in addition to his other portfolios.
Those portfolios and responsibilities such as for the
Canadian Race Relations Foundation
The Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF; , ''FCRR'') is a Charitable organization (Canada), charitable organization and Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation responsible to foster racial harmony and cross-cultural understanding and ...
, were returned to the heritage minister with the swearing in of the
29th Canadian Ministry
The Twenty-Ninth Canadian Ministry is the Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, that began governing Canada shortly before the opening of the 42nd Parliament. The original members were sworn in during a ceremony held at Rideau ...
in November 2015.
The heritage minister also gained responsibility for the
National Capital Commission, which was formerly under the senior
Ottawa-area cabinet minister under the Harper government; and the
Canadian secretary to the Queen
The Canadian Secretary to the King (french: Secrétaire canadien du Roi) is the senior operational member of the royal household for the King of Canada, Charles III. The secretary is the principal channel of communication between the monarch and h ...
, which was previously under the
Privy Council Office.
List of ministers
Key:
Responsibilities
Prior to 2003, their responsibilities included
National Parks
A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...
and
historic sites. The Minister of Canadian Heritage is responsible for:
General duties
The minister's general powers, duties, and functions are set out by section 4 of the ''Department of Canadian Heritage Act'', which provides as follows:
(1) The powers, duties and functions of the Minister extend to and include all matters over which Parliament has jurisdiction, not by law assigned to any other department, board or agency of the Government of Canada, relating to Canadian identity and values, cultural development and heritage.
(2) The Minister’s jurisdiction referred to in subsection (1) encompasses, but is not limited to, jurisdiction over
*the promotion of a greater understanding of human rights, fundamental freedoms and related values;
*multiculturalism;
*the arts, including cultural aspects of the status of the artist;
*cultural heritage and industries, including performing arts, visual and audio-visual arts, publishing, sound recording, film, video and literature;
*national battlefields;
*the encouragement, promotion and development of sport;
*the advancement of the equality of status and use of English and French and the enhancement and development of the English and French linguistic minority communities in Canada;
*state ceremonial and Canadian symbols;
*broadcasting, except in respect of spectrum management and the technical aspects of broadcasting;
*the formulation of cultural policy, including the formulation of cultural policy as it relates to foreign investment and copyright;
*the conservation, exportation and importation of cultural property; and
*national museums, archives and libraries.
In addition, sections 42 to 44 of the Official Languages Act confer certain other responsibilities on the minister of Canadian heritage
Official Languages Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. 31 (4th Supp.)
/ref> (see minister responsible for Official Languages (Canada)).
References
Sources
Our Ministers and Secretaries of State
*
{{Department of Canadian Heritage
Canadian Heritage, Minister of
Canadian culture
Culture ministers
*