Lawrence A. MacAulay (born September 9, 1946) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

politician, who represented the riding of Cardigan,

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

in the

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from 1988 until 2025. On June 11, 1997, he joined the cabinet of

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

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 ...

as Minister of Labour and Minister responsible for Prince Edward Island. In 1998, he was appointed Solicitor General of Canada and served in that role until his resignation from Cabinet on October 21, 2002, during a

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple wikt:interest#Noun, interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates t ...

inquiry. MacAuley served as a Liberal

backbench In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of t ...

member of Parliament (MP) through the rest of the Liberal years in power and as an opposition member during the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

government led by

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...

(2006–2015). He is the former Secretary of State (Veterans) and Secretary of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency). He was also the Official Opposition Critic for Seniors. On March 20, 2014, MacAulay became the longest-serving MP in the history of Prince Edward Island, surpassing the record previously set by Angus MacLean. On November 4, 2015, he was appointed the

Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food 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 C ...

by the new prime minister

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...

. On March 1, 2019, Trudeau shuffled his cabinet, appointing MacAulay as Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence. On July 26, 2023, Trudeau shuffled his cabinet, appointing MacAulay as Minister of Agriculture for the second time. On March 1, 2025, MacAulay announced he wouldn't be seeking re-election in

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

for Cardigan. MacAulay lives in Midgell,

with his wife, Frances.

Controversy

In December 2022, MacAulay was confronted in parliament by other MPs on multiple reports of Veterans Affairs Canada offering medical assistance in dying (MAID) to veterans seeking medical care. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described the incidents as "absolutely unacceptable".

Electoral record

References

External links

Official siteBio & Mandate from Prime Minister
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macaulay, Lawrence 1946 births Living people Politicians from Kings County, Prince Edward Island Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Prince Edward Island Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Solicitors general of Canada Farmers from Prince Edward Island Members of the 26th Canadian Ministry Members of the 29th Canadian Ministry Ministers of labour of Canada Ministers of agriculture of Canada 21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada Minister of veterans affairs of Canada