John McCallum
Encyclopedia
John McCallum, PC
, MP
(born April 9, 1950 in Montreal
, Quebec
) is a Liberal
Canadian
politician
, economist
and university professor
. Following the 2006 Federal Election
, he became the Liberal Finance Critic
in the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet
. Before the election, he was the 37th Minister of National Revenue
and was also the Minister responsible for Canada Post Corporation, the Royal Canadian Mint, from 2004 to 2006 and acting Minister of Natural Resources from 2005 to 2006.
Born in Montreal
, Quebec
, he has a Bachelor of Arts
degree from Queens' College
, Cambridge University
, a diplôme d'études supérieures from Université de Paris and a Doctorate in economics from McGill University
. He was a professor of economics at the University of Manitoba
from 1976 until 1978, Simon Fraser University
from 1978 until 1982, the Université du Québec à Montréal
from 1982 until 1987, and McGill University from 1987 until 1994. He is an honorary member of the Royal Military College of Canada
, student #S139. He was also Dean of the Faculty of Arts at McGill University. He then became Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist of the Royal Bank of Canada
.
He is the author of 1980 book, Unequal Beginnings: Agriculture and Economic Development in Quebec and Ontario until 1870. He is also the co-author (with Clarence Barber
) of Unemployment and Inflation: The Canadian Experience and Controlling Inflation: Learning from Experience in Canada, Europe and Japan. He also co-wrote Parting as friends: the economic consequences for Quebec in 1991 and Global Disequilibrium in the World Economy in 1992.
A Liberal
Member of Parliament
(MP) since the 2000 election
, he currently represents Markham—Unionville
. McCallum has previously filled the posts of Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions), Minister of National Defence
and Minister of Veterans Affairs
in the Cabinet of Canada
under prime ministers Jean Chrétien
and Paul Martin
, respectively. He is a member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada
.
article in the American Economic Review entitled "National Borders
Matter." The article has spawned an ongoing international debate on whether trade
within a nation state is greater than trade among nations, as
compared with the predictions of standard economic models.
As McGill University
’s Dean of Arts, McCallum secured a $10 million contribution
from Charles Bronfman
for the establishment of the McGill Institute
for the Study of Canada.
He also participated in the national unity debates of the early 1990s,
editing the Canada Round Series of the C. D. Howe Institute
and engaging
in debate with then Opposition Leader Jacques Parizeau
at Quebec's
National Assembly.
’s chief economist for six years. While
consistently achieving the highest media coverage of bank chief
economists, he also engaged in social issues, notably a 1997 Royal Bank
conference designed to align the business community with the
recommendations of the 1996 Report on the Royal Commission on Aboriginal
Peoples. The tenth anniversary of his paper at that conference, "The
Cost of Doing Nothing," was recently highlighted in Aboriginal Times Magazine.
as the second honorary
citizen in Canadian history.
McCallum was quite vocal in Canada's debate on Same-Sex marriage. He told the Edmonton Sun in August 2003, "If people want to do something and it doesn’t hurt other people, doesn’t reduce other people’s rights, we should let them do it. Why not?" He also significantly contributed to the final debate before the vote on same-sex marriage on 21 March 2005 saying:
increase in the annual defence budget ($1 billion) in more than a
decade in return for offering up $200 million in savings from reducing
low priority spending. He also
retroactively reversed a gross inequity which awarded up to $250,000 to
military personnel who lost their eyesight or a limb while on active
service - but only to those with the rank of colonel or above. Now all
Canadian Forces members are covered by the plan regardless of rank. Working with Germany, he
successfully persuaded NATO to take control over the security mission in
Kabul, Afghanistan, while also ensuring that the mission was led by
Canada. He also determined that the army, rather than the navy or air force, was to be the top priority in
budget allocations.
He became widely known and criticized in 2002 when he admitted, while serving as the Minister of National Defence, that he had never heard of the 1942 Dieppe raid
, a fateful and nationally significant operation for Canadian Forces during the Second World War. Ironically, he wrote a letter to the editor of the National Post
in response, but committed a further gaffe, confusing Canadian participation in the 1917 Battle of Vimy Ridge
in France with Vichy France
from 1940 to 1944. Response at the continued historical ignorance prompted outrage and humour among the press.
In November 2002, while still serving as Defence Minister, McCallum encountered further controversy when officials refused to allow him to board an Air Canada
flight because his breath smelt heavily of alcohol. McCallum announced soon thereafter that the incident prompted him to abstain completely from alcohol consumption. He reportedly also intended to lose weight and give up smoking.
In January 2003, McCallum prompted both indignation and gales of laughter in the House of Commons when he mocked Conservative MP Elsie Wayne
's flamboyant attire. When asked by Wayne about proper identification markers for Canadian military vehicles (to prevent friendly fire
incidents), McCallum responded: "if our soldiers were to wear the dress of the honourable member over there, they would be very well identified." McCallum later apologized both inside and outside the House of Commons for using inappropriate language, blaming the excitement of the moment.
been physically or mentally injured while serving in the Canadian
Forces. This charter, which became law in 2005, is modeled on the range
of services provided for returning veterans after World War II.
reductions of $11 billion over five years.
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...
, MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(born April 9, 1950 in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
) is a Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, economist
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
and university professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
. Following the 2006 Federal Election
Canadian federal election, 2006
The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...
, he became the Liberal Finance Critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
in the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet
Shadow Cabinet
The Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government...
. Before the election, he was the 37th Minister of National Revenue
Minister of National Revenue (Canada)
The Minister of National Revenue is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for the Canada Revenue Agency and the administration of taxation law and collection....
and was also the Minister responsible for Canada Post Corporation, the Royal Canadian Mint, from 2004 to 2006 and acting Minister of Natural Resources from 2005 to 2006.
Born in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, he has a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree from Queens' College
Queens' College, Cambridge
Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou , and refounded in 1465 by Elizabeth Woodville...
, Cambridge University
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, a diplôme d'études supérieures from Université de Paris and a Doctorate in economics from McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
. He was a professor of economics at the University of Manitoba
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...
from 1976 until 1978, Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000...
from 1978 until 1982, the Université du Québec à Montréal
Université du Québec à Montréal
The Université du Québec à Montréal is one of four universities in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-Basic facts:The UQAM is the largest constituent element of the Université du Québec , a public university system with other branches in Gatineau , Rimouski, Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec City, Chicoutimi, and...
from 1982 until 1987, and McGill University from 1987 until 1994. He is an honorary member of the Royal Military College of Canada
Royal Military College of Canada
The Royal Military College of Canada, RMC, or RMCC , is the military academy of the Canadian Forces, and is a degree-granting university. RMC was established in 1876. RMC is the only federal institution in Canada with degree granting powers...
, student #S139. He was also Dean of the Faculty of Arts at McGill University. He then became Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist of the Royal Bank of Canada
Royal Bank of Canada
The Royal Bank of Canada or RBC Financial Group is the largest financial institution in Canada, as measured by deposits, revenues, and market capitalization. The bank serves seventeen million clients and has 80,100 employees worldwide. The company corporate headquarters are located in Toronto,...
.
He is the author of 1980 book, Unequal Beginnings: Agriculture and Economic Development in Quebec and Ontario until 1870. He is also the co-author (with Clarence Barber
Clarence Barber
Clarence Lyle Barber, OC, OM, FRSC was a Canadian economist and academic.Born in Wolseley, Saskatchewan, he received a B.A. in economics from the University of Saskatchewan in 1939. He won a scholarship to Clark University where he obtained his M.A. in 1941 and he received a Ph.D...
) of Unemployment and Inflation: The Canadian Experience and Controlling Inflation: Learning from Experience in Canada, Europe and Japan. He also co-wrote Parting as friends: the economic consequences for Quebec in 1991 and Global Disequilibrium in the World Economy in 1992.
A Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) since the 2000 election
Canadian federal election, 2000
The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of the 37th Parliament of Canada....
, he currently represents Markham—Unionville
Markham—Unionville
Markham—Unionville is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004.-Boundaries:...
. McCallum has previously filled the posts of Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions), Minister of National Defence
Minister of National Defence (Canada)
The Minister of National Defence is a Minister of the Crown; the Canadian politician within the Cabinet of Canada responsible for the Department of National Defence which oversees the Canadian Forces....
and Minister of Veterans Affairs
Minister of Veterans Affairs (Canada)
The Minister of Veterans Affairs is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet whose position was created in 1944. The Department of Veterans Affairs Canada was split from the Department of Pensions and National Health and was given the responsibility of administering benefits and pensions...
in the Cabinet of Canada
Cabinet of Canada
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 the government of Canada...
under prime ministers Jean Chrétien
Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , known commonly as Jean Chrétien is a former Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada. He served in the position for over ten years, from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003....
and Paul Martin
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
, respectively. He is a member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...
.
Academic career (1976-94)
One of his most influential academic contributions was a seven-pagearticle in the American Economic Review entitled "National Borders
Matter." The article has spawned an ongoing international debate on whether trade
within a nation state is greater than trade among nations, as
compared with the predictions of standard economic models.
As McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
’s Dean of Arts, McCallum secured a $10 million contribution
from Charles Bronfman
Charles Bronfman
Charles Rosner Bronfman, is a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. With an estimated net worth of $US 2.0 billion , Bronfman was ranked by Forbes as the 15th wealthiest Canadian and 595th in the world....
for the establishment of the McGill Institute
for the Study of Canada.
He also participated in the national unity debates of the early 1990s,
editing the Canada Round Series of the C. D. Howe Institute
C. D. Howe Institute
The C.D. Howe Institute is a Canadian public policy think tank based in downtown Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1958, the Institute publishes research and hosts conferences on a wide variety of issues in Canadian economic and social policy...
and engaging
in debate with then Opposition Leader Jacques Parizeau
Jacques Parizeau
Jacques Parizeau, is an economist and noted Quebec sovereignist who was the 26th Premier of the Canadian province of Quebec from September 26, 1994 to January 29, 1996.-Early life and career:...
at Quebec's
National Assembly.
Private sector career (1994-2000)
McCallum was the Royal Bank of CanadaRoyal Bank of Canada
The Royal Bank of Canada or RBC Financial Group is the largest financial institution in Canada, as measured by deposits, revenues, and market capitalization. The bank serves seventeen million clients and has 80,100 employees worldwide. The company corporate headquarters are located in Toronto,...
’s chief economist for six years. While
consistently achieving the highest media coverage of bank chief
economists, he also engaged in social issues, notably a 1997 Royal Bank
conference designed to align the business community with the
recommendations of the 1996 Report on the Royal Commission on Aboriginal
Peoples. The tenth anniversary of his paper at that conference, "The
Cost of Doing Nothing," was recently highlighted in Aboriginal Times Magazine.
Backbencher and social issues
McCallum successfully nominated Nelson MandelaNelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
as the second honorary
citizen in Canadian history.
McCallum was quite vocal in Canada's debate on Same-Sex marriage. He told the Edmonton Sun in August 2003, "If people want to do something and it doesn’t hurt other people, doesn’t reduce other people’s rights, we should let them do it. Why not?" He also significantly contributed to the final debate before the vote on same-sex marriage on 21 March 2005 saying:
I believe we should always seek to expand the rights of our fellow citizens as long as we do not thereby reduce the rights of others. We should seek to ensure that no group is denied full participation in society. As members of Parliament, we should not ask the question, why should we extend this right? Rather our question should be, why should we not extend the right? Let the burden of proof be on those who wish to limit fundamental rights.
...
Many Canadians will want to accept both of these principles: protect the traditional definition of marriage and protect the rights of minorities. The essence of my message today is that we cannot do both. We cannot have it both ways. We must make a choice between traditional marriage and the protection of minority rights.
Defence Minister
As Defence Minister, McCallum achieved what was then the largestincrease in the annual defence budget ($1 billion) in more than a
decade in return for offering up $200 million in savings from reducing
low priority spending. He also
retroactively reversed a gross inequity which awarded up to $250,000 to
military personnel who lost their eyesight or a limb while on active
service - but only to those with the rank of colonel or above. Now all
Canadian Forces members are covered by the plan regardless of rank. Working with Germany, he
successfully persuaded NATO to take control over the security mission in
Kabul, Afghanistan, while also ensuring that the mission was led by
Canada. He also determined that the army, rather than the navy or air force, was to be the top priority in
budget allocations.
He became widely known and criticized in 2002 when he admitted, while serving as the Minister of National Defence, that he had never heard of the 1942 Dieppe raid
Dieppe Raid
The Dieppe Raid, also known as the Battle of Dieppe, Operation Rutter or later on Operation Jubilee, during the Second World War, was an Allied attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe on the northern coast of France on 19 August 1942. The assault began at 5:00 AM and by 10:50 AM the Allied...
, a fateful and nationally significant operation for Canadian Forces during the Second World War. Ironically, he wrote a letter to the editor of the National Post
National Post
The National Post is a Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, a district of Toronto. The paper is owned by Postmedia Network Inc. and is published Mondays through Saturdays...
in response, but committed a further gaffe, confusing Canadian participation in the 1917 Battle of Vimy Ridge
Battle of Vimy Ridge
The Battle of Vimy Ridge was a military engagement fought primarily as part of the Battle of Arras, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the Canadian Corps, of four divisions, against three divisions of the German Sixth Army...
in France with Vichy France
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
from 1940 to 1944. Response at the continued historical ignorance prompted outrage and humour among the press.
In November 2002, while still serving as Defence Minister, McCallum encountered further controversy when officials refused to allow him to board an Air Canada
Air Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and largest airline of Canada. The airline, founded in 1936, provides scheduled and charter air transport for passengers and cargo to 178 destinations worldwide. It is the world's tenth largest passenger airline by number of destinations, and the airline is a...
flight because his breath smelt heavily of alcohol. McCallum announced soon thereafter that the incident prompted him to abstain completely from alcohol consumption. He reportedly also intended to lose weight and give up smoking.
In January 2003, McCallum prompted both indignation and gales of laughter in the House of Commons when he mocked Conservative MP Elsie Wayne
Elsie Wayne
Elsie Eleanore Wayne is a Canadian politician, and a former Progressive Conservative MP for Saint John.-Political career:In 1977, she was elected to the Saint John municipal council...
's flamboyant attire. When asked by Wayne about proper identification markers for Canadian military vehicles (to prevent friendly fire
Friendly fire
Friendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death. A death resulting from a negligent discharge is not considered friendly fire...
incidents), McCallum responded: "if our soldiers were to wear the dress of the honourable member over there, they would be very well identified." McCallum later apologized both inside and outside the House of Commons for using inappropriate language, blaming the excitement of the moment.
Veterans Affairs Minister
McCallum introduced a new charter for younger, postwar veterans who havebeen physically or mentally injured while serving in the Canadian
Forces. This charter, which became law in 2005, is modeled on the range
of services provided for returning veterans after World War II.
Expenditure Review Committee
As Chair of Expenditure Review Committee, McCallum achieved expenditurereductions of $11 billion over five years.