The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration is the Minister of the Crown

Minister of the Crown

Minister of the Crown is the formal constitutional term used in the Commonwealth realms to describe a minister to the reigning sovereign. The term indicates that the minister serves at His/Her Majesty's pleasure, and advises the monarch, or viceroy, on how to exercise the Crown prerogatives...

 in the Canadian Cabinet

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...

 who is responsible for overseeing the federal government department responsible for immigration

Immigration

Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...

, refugee

Refugee

A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...

 and citizenship

Citizenship

Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...

 issues, Citizenship and Immigration Canada

Citizenship and Immigration Canada

Citizenship and Immigration Canada is the department of the government of Canada with responsibility for issues dealing with immigration and citizenship...

. The Minister is also responsible for the Immigration and Refugee Board.

The current Minister is The Honourable

The Honourable

The prefix The Honourable or The Honorable is a style used before the names of certain classes of persons. It is considered an honorific styling.-International diplomacy:...

 Jason Kenney

Jason Kenney

Jason T. Kenney, PC, MP is Canada's current Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism. He has represented the riding of Calgary Southeast in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997....

.

Ministers

Prior to 1950, the responsibilities of the original Citizenship and Immigration portfolio were largely within the post of Minister of Reconstruction and Supply, with the Indian Affairs branch the responsibility of the Minister of Mines and Resources. In 1966, the portfolio was largely replaced by that of the Minister of Manpower and Immigration, while the Indian Affairs branch was relocated to the new portfolio of Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development

Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (Canada)

The Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who heads two different departments...

.

Prior to 1994, the responsibilities of the current Citizenship and Immigration portfolio were divided between the posts of Minister of Multiculturalism and Citizenship and Minister of Employment and Immigration

Minister of Employment and Immigration (Canada)

The Minister of Employment and Immigration was an office in the Cabinet of Canada, in operation from 1977 to 1996. On July 12, 1996, the office of the Minister of Employment and Immigration was abolished and replaced with the office of Minister of Human Resources Development...

. When the post of "Minister of Citizenship and Immigration" was resuscitated in 1994, those two portfolios were substantially revamped.

Key:

Ministers of Citizenship and Immigration (1950–1966)
No.	Name	Term of office		Political party	Ministry
1	Walter Harris Walter Harris Walter Edward Harris, PC, QC was a Canadian politician and lawyer.Harris was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons as the Liberal Member of Parliament for the Ontario riding of Grey-Bruce in the 1940 election defeating Agnes MacPhail...	January 18, 1950	June 30, 1954	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...	17 17th Canadian Ministry The Seventeenth Canadian Ministry was the cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Louis St-Laurent. It governed Canada from 15 November 1948 to 21 June 1957, including the end of the 20th Canadian Parliament, as well as all of the 21st and 22nd...  (St. Laurent Louis St. Laurent Louis Stephen St. Laurent, PC, CC, QC , was the 12th Prime Minister of Canada from 15 November 1948, to 21 June 1957.... )
2	Jack Pickersgill Jack Pickersgill John Whitney "Jack" Pickersgill, PC, CC was a Canadian civil servant and politician. He was born in Ontario, but was raised in Manitobia. He was the Clerk for the Canadian Government's Privy Council in the early 1950s...	July 1, 1954	June 21, 1957	Liberal
–	Davie Fulton Davie Fulton Edmund Davie Fulton, PC, OC, QC was a Canadian Rhodes Scholar, politician and judge. Popularly known as E. Davie Fulton. He was born in Kamloops, British Columbia, the son of politician/lawyer Frederick John Fulton and Winnifred M. Davie, daughter of A.E.B. Davie...  (Acting)	June 21, 1957	May 11, 1958	Progressive Conservative Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....	18 18th Canadian Ministry The Eighteenth Canadian Ministry was the cabinet chaired by Prime Minister John Diefenbaker. It governed Canada from 21 June 1957 to 22 April 1963, including all of the 23rd, 24th, and 25th Canadian Parliaments...  (Diefenbaker John Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker, PC, CH, QC was the 13th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 21, 1957, to April 22, 1963... )
3	Ellen Fairclough Ellen Fairclough Ellen Louks Fairclough, was the first female member of the Canadian Cabinet.Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Fairclough was a chartered accountant by training, and ran an accounting firm prior to entering politics...	May 12, 1958	August 8, 1962	Progressive Conservative
4	Richard Albert Bell	August 9, 1962	April 22, 1963	Progressive Conservative
5	Guy Favreau Guy Favreau Guy Favreau, PC, QC, was a Canadian lawyer, politician and judge.Born in Montreal, Quebec, the son of Léopold Favreau and Béatrice Gagnon, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts and an LL.B. from the Université de Montréal. He was called to the Bar of Quebec in 1940. He worked as a lawyer in Montreal...	April 22, 1963	February 2, 1964	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...	19 19th Canadian Ministry The Nineteenth Canadian Ministry was the cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson. It governed Canada from 22 April 1963 to 20 April 1968, including all of the 26th, and 27th Canadian Parliaments...  (Pearson Lester B. Pearson Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson, PC, OM, CC, OBE was a Canadian professor, historian, civil servant, statesman, diplomat, and politician, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for organizing the United Nations Emergency Force to resolve the Suez Canal Crisis... )
6	René Tremblay René Tremblay René Tremblay, PC was a Canadian politician.Born in Luceville, Quebec, he was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons representing the riding of Matapédia—Matane in the 1963 federal election. A Liberal, he was re-elected in 1965. From 1963 to 1964, he was a Minister without Portfolio...	February 3, 1964	February 14, 1965	Liberal
7	John Robert Nicholson John Robert Nicholson John Robert "Jack" Nicholson, was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, politician and the 21st Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia....	February 15, 1965	December 17, 1965	Liberal
8	Jean Marchand Jean Marchand Jean Marchand, PC, CC was a well known French Canadian public figure, trade unionist and politician in Quebec, Canada....	December 18, 1965	September 30, 1966	Liberal
POST DISCONTINUED		1966–1994		—	20 20th Canadian Ministry The Twentieth Canadian Ministry was the first cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. It governed Canada from 20 April 1968 to 4 June 1979, including all of the 28th, 29th, and 30th Canadian Parliaments. The government was formed by the Liberal Party of Canada... –25 25th Canadian Ministry The Twenty-Fifthth Canadian Ministry was the cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Kim Campbell. It governed Canada from 25 June 1993 to 4 November 1993, including only the last two months of the 34th Canadian Parliament...
Ministers of Citizenship and Immigration (1994– )
No.	Name	Term of office		Political party	Ministry
1	Sergio Marchi Sergio Marchi Sergio Marchi, PC is a Canadian diplomat and former politician.Marchi was born in Argentina to an Italian family who subsequently emigrated to Canada...	June 30, 1994	January 24, 1996	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...	26 (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.... )
2	Lucienne Robillard Lucienne Robillard Lucienne Robillard, PC is a Canadian politician and a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. She sat in the Canadian House of Commons as the Member of Parliament for the riding of Westmount—Ville-Marie in Montreal....	January 25, 1996	August 2, 1999	Liberal
3	Elinor Caplan Elinor Caplan Elinor Caplan, PC is a retired politician and businesswoman in Ontario, Canada. She served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1985 to 1997, and was a Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons from 1997 to 2004...	August 3, 1999	January 14, 2002	Liberal
4	Denis Coderre Denis Coderre Denis Coderre, PC, MP is a Canadian politician from Quebec, Canada. Coderre is the Liberal Member of Parliament for the Montreal riding of Bourassa.-Background:...	January 15, 2002	December 11, 2003	Liberal
5	Judy Sgro Judy Sgro Judy Sgro, PC, MP is a Canadian politician. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, she currently represents the electoral district of York West in the Canadian House of Commons.-Councillor:...	December 12, 2003	January 13, 2005	Liberal	27 (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.... )
6	Joe Volpe Joe Volpe Giuseppe Joseph "Joe" Volpe, PC, was a Canadian politician. He was a Liberal member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1988 until the 2011 federal election, being surpassed by the conservative member Joe Oliver Joe Oliver, and held two senior positions in Prime Minister Paul Martin's Cabinet...	January 14, 2005	February 5, 2006	Liberal
7	Monte Solberg Monte Solberg Monte Kenton Solberg, PC is a former Canadian Member of Parliament, representing the riding of Medicine Hat in the Canadian House of Commons as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. He was the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development...	February 6, 2006	January 3, 2007	Conservative Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...	28 (Harper Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election... )
8	Diane Finley Diane Finley Diane Finley, PC, MP is a Canadian politician. She serves as Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Of the 12 MPs in the Priorities and Planning Committee of cabinet , known as the inner cabinet, she is the only woman...	January 4, 2007	October 29, 2008	Conservative
9	Jason Kenney Jason Kenney Jason T. Kenney, PC, MP is Canada's current Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism. He has represented the riding of Calgary Southeast in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997....	October 30, 2008	Incumbent	Conservative

External links

• Citizenship and Immigration Canada