Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Fred J. Mifflin, (February 6, 1938 – October 5, 2013) was a

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

in the

Canadian Forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...

and a politician. Mifflin was born in Bonavista,

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

, in 1938.

Naval career

Mifflin joined the RCN in 1954 after serving as a Sea Cadet and rose through the ranks as an officer: * Executive officer 1968–1969 * Command secretary, Maritime Command 1969–1970 * Commanding officer 1970–1972 * Captain, National Defence Headquarters Evaluation Branch 1973–1976 * Commander, First Canadian Destroyer Squadron 1976–1978 * Director of Maritime Requirements 1978–1979 * Director, National Defence Headquarters Secretariat 1979–1981 * Chief of staff, Maritime Command Headquarters, Plans and Ops 1981–1984 * Chief of staff, Maritime Command Headquarters, Personnel 1984–1985 * Rear admiral and deputy commander, Maritime Command 1985–1987

Political career

After retiring from 32 years of service in the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...

, Mifflin entered politics and was elected to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

in the 1988 election. Mifflin became the Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for the

riding of Bonavista-Trinity-Conception. After the Liberals came to power under the leadership of

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a retired Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. He served as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, leader of t ...

in the 1993 election, Mifflin was appointed parliamentary secretary to the ministers of national defence and veterans affairs. In 1996, he was appointed to the

Canadian Cabinet The Canadian Ministry ( French: ''Conseil des ministres''), colloquially referred to as the Cabinet of Canada (), is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms ...

as Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. In a 1997

cabinet shuffle A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet, or when the head of state changes the head of government and a number of ministers. They are more common in parliam ...

, he was appointed Minister of Veterans Affairs and Secretary of State for the

Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency In Canada, the Regional Development Agencies (RDA) are the seven federal government agencies responsible for addressing key economic challenges and furthering economic development, diversification, and job creation specific to their respective re ...

. Mifflin decided that he wasn't going to run in the next general election, and was dropped from Cabinet in August 1999. He did not run for re-election in the 2000 election. He supported

Stéphane Dion Stéphane Maurice Dion (; ; born 28September 1955) is a Canadian diplomat, academic and former politician who has been the List of ambassadors of Canada to France, Canadian ambassador to France and Monaco since 2022 and special envoy to the Eu ...

for the leadership of the Liberal Party. Mifflin died on October 5, 2013, with his wife at his side.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mifflin, Fred 1938 births 2013 deaths Canadian military personnel from Newfoundland and Labrador Canadian admirals Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Newfoundland and Labrador Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Members of the 26th Canadian Ministry 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada Minister of veterans affairs of Canada