View source for Edgar Benson

{{Short description|Canadian politician (1923–2011)}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=September 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{for|Edgar A. Benson, founder of an eponymous 1920s swing orchestra|Benson Orchestra of Chicago}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix  = [[The Honourable]]
| name              = Edgar Benson
| honorific-suffix  = {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|FCA| size=100%}}
| image             = Edgar John Benson.jpg
| caption           = Benson, {{circa|1968}}
| imagesize         = 
| office            = [[Minister of National Defence (Canada)|Minister of National Defence]]
| primeminister    = [[Pierre Trudeau]]
| term_start       = January 28, 1972
| term_end         = August 31, 1972
| predecessor      = [[Donald Stovel Macdonald|Donald Macdonald]]
| successor        = [[Jean-Eudes Dubé]] (acting)
|office1          = [[Minister of Finance (Canada)|Minister of Finance]]
| primeminister1  = Pierre Trudeau
| term_start1     = April 20, 1968
| term_end1       = January 28, 1972
| predecessor1    = [[Mitchell Sharp]]
| successor1      = [[John Turner]]
| office2         = [[President of the Treasury Board]]
| primeminister2  =  [[Lester B. Pearson]]<br />Pierre Trudeau
| term_start2     = October 1, 1966
| term_end2       = July 5, 1968
| predecessor2    = ''Position established''
| successor2      = [[Charles Drury]]
| office3         = [[Minister of National Revenue]]
| primeminister3  = Lester B. Pearson
| term_start3     = June 29, 1964
| term_end3       = January 17, 1968
| predecessor3    = [[George McIlraith]] (acting)
| successor3      = [[Jean Chrétien]]
| riding4         = [[Kingston (federal electoral district)|Kingston]] (1962–1968); <br /> [[Kingston and the Islands (federal electoral district)|Kingston and the Islands]] (1968–1972)
| parliament4      = Canadian
| term_start4      = June 18, 1962
| term_end4        = October 29, 1972
| predecessor4     = [[Benjamin Graydon Allmark]]
| successor4       = [[Flora MacDonald (politician)|Flora MacDonald]]
| birth_name       = Edgar John Benson
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1923|5|28}}
| birth_place      = [[Cobourg, Ontario]], Canada
| death_date       = {{death date and age|mf=yes|2011|9|02|1923|5|28}}
| death_place      = [[Ottawa, Ontario]], Canada
|restingplace      = [[Beechwood Cemetery]]
| profession       = [[Chartered Accountant]]
| party            = [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]]
| residence        =
|alma_mater        = [[Queen's University at Kingston|Queen's University]]
| spouse           = Marie Louise van Laer <small>(1946–1974)</small><br />Mary Jane Binks <small>(1987–2011)</small>
|branch            = [[File:Canadian_Red_Ensign_(1921%E2%80%931957).svg|20px]] [[Canadian Army]]
|unit              = 1st Survey Regiment, [[Royal Canadian Artillery|RCA]]<br />[[I Canadian Corps]]
|serviceyears      = 1941{{endash}}1946
|rank=[[File:Canadian_Army_OR-6.svg|20px]] [[Sergeant#Canada|Sergeant]]
}}

'''Edgar John''' "'''Ben'''" '''Benson''' {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|FCA|size=100%}} (May 28, 1923 – September 2, 2011) was a [[Canadians|Canadian]] [[politician]], businessman,  [[diplomat]], and university professor. He held four cabinet posts, most notably that of [[Minister of Finance (Canada)|Minister of Finance]] under [[Pierre Trudeau]], where he was instrumental in reforming Canada's income tax law.{{sfn|Hustak|2011}} He was described as "Pierre Trudeau's unflappable finance minister, the [[pipe-smoking]] financial wizard who raised the ire of corporate Canada in the 1970s by bringing in a [[capital gains tax]]."{{sfn|Hustak|2011}}

==Early years==
After serving overseas in the [[Second World War]] as a [[sergeant]] in the [[Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery]], Benson attended [[Queen's University at Kingston|Queen's University]] in [[Kingston, Ontario]], where he obtained his [[Bachelor of Commerce]] degree. He became a [[chartered accountant]] and partner in the accounting firm of England, Leonard, Macpherson and Company, and co-owner of [[CKLC-FM|CKLC]].<ref>{{cite web|title = Radio station history - CKLC-FM|url = http://www.broadcasting-history.ca/index3.html?url=http%3A//www.broadcasting-history.ca/listings_and_histories/radio/histories.php%3Fid%3D439%26historyID%3D222|publisher = Canadian Communications Foundation|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170305003008/http://www.broadcasting-history.ca/index3.html?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.broadcasting-history.ca%2Flistings_and_histories%2Fradio%2Fhistories.php%3Fid%3D439%26historyID%3D222|archive-date = 2017-03-05}}</ref> Prior to his entry into politics, he also taught [[Business Administration]] at Queen's, in the capacity of [[Professor#Assistant professor|Assistant Professor]] of Commerce.<ref>{{cite web|title = Tax Reform (speech)|url = http://speeches.empireclub.org/62615/data?n=1|publisher = [[Empire Club of Canada]]|date = February 13, 1969}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title = Flags lowered for former School of Business professor|url = http://www.queensu.ca/gazette/content/flags-lowered-former-school-business-professor|newspaper = Queen's Gazette|date = September 9, 2011|publisher = [[Queen's University at Kingston|Queen's University]]|access-date = August 23, 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160919130450/http://www.queensu.ca/gazette/content/flags-lowered-former-school-business-professor|archive-date = September 19, 2016|df = mdy-all}}</ref>

==Political life==
He was first elected to the [[House of Commons of Canada]] in the [[1962 Canadian federal election|1962 general election]] as the [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]] [[Member of Parliament (Canada)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[Kingston and the Islands (federal electoral district)|Kingston, Ontario]]. Initially appointed in 1962 as [[Parliamentary Secretary]] to then [[Minister of Finance (Canada)|Minister of Finance]] [[Walter L. Gordon|Walter Gordon]], he entered the [[Canadian Cabinet|Cabinet]] of [[Prime Minister of Canada|Prime Minister]] [[Lester Pearson]] in 1964 as [[Minister of National Revenue (Canada)|Minister of National Revenue]], and served concurrently from 1966 to 1968 as the first [[President of the Treasury Board]].

He was an early supporter of [[Pierre Trudeau]] in the [[1968 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election|1968 Liberal leadership campaign]] to replace the retiring Pearson, and, together with [[Jean Marchand]], was co-chairman of Trudeau's leadership bid.{{sfn|Hustak|2011}} He was later appointed [[Minister of Finance (Canada)|Minister of Finance]], serving from 1968 to 1972.

===Tax reform (1971)===
Benson's balanced [[1969 Canadian federal budget|budget for 1969-70]] would be the last until [[Paul Martin]]'s [[1997 Canadian federal budget|budget of 1997-98]].<ref>{{cite book |author1= Brian Lee Crowley|author2= Jeff Waldman|title= Fearful Symmetry - The Fall and Rise of Canada's Founding Values|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=HAmRQVNJ7ogC&q=Edgar+Benson&pg=PT24|year= 2011|publisher= [[Macdonald-Laurier Institute]]|location= Ottawa|isbn= 978-1-4566-0552-0}}</ref> Later in 1969, he introduced his [[white paper]] on Canadian tax reform, which paved the way for:

:* a [[capital gains tax]]{{sfn|Benson|1969|loc=ch. 3}}
:* a [[tax deduction]] for [[child care]] as a means of helping mothers enter the [[workforce]]{{sfn|Benson|1969|loc=par. 2.7-2.9}}
:* greater use of [[Registered Retirement Savings Plan]]s{{sfn|Benson|1969|loc=par. 2.45-2.52}}

The proposals were subjected to intensive debate that lasted more than a year. Those concerning the capital gains tax were severely criticized by the business community, particularly [[Israel Asper]], who condemned the measure.<ref>{{cite book |author= Israel Asper|author-link= Israel Asper|title= The Benson iceberg: a critical analysis of the white paper on tax reform in Canada|year= 1970|publisher= [[Clarke, Irwin & Company]]|location= Toronto|ol= 5396963M }}</ref> The reforms were only passed after significant amendment, and even then only through the use of [[cloture|closure]].{{sfn|Hustak|2011}} They came into effect on January 1, 1972, as prescribed by the [[1971 Canadian federal budget]].<ref>{{Cite canlaw|short title  =An Act to amend the Income Tax Act and to make certain provisions and alterations to the statute law related to or consequential upon the amendments to that Act|abbr =S.C.|year =1970-71-72|chapter =63|link= https://archive.org/stream/actsofparl197072v02cana#page/1310/mode/2up}}</ref>

[[Marc Lalonde]], a colleague and future Finance Minister, later said, "He was in finance at a critical time, he revolutionized the system. He launched a revolution. It was a revolution, a necessary step and a demanding task. What he did was economically justified. The basic tax structure that he put in place is still alive. No one has really touched it since."{{sfn|Hustak|2011}}

===Impact===
He was also instrumental in rolling out a national medical care plan and supplementary old age pensions and played a key role in federal-provincial relations.

Benson wore a pair of [[new shoes on budget day]] in [[1968 Canadian federal budget|1968]], although he said, "He didn't buy them just for the budget."<ref>{{cite news |title= Name makes tax no sweeter|author= Robert Hull|newspaper= The Windsor Star|date= October 23, 1968|page=16}}</ref> The following year he did not wear new shoes when delivering the budget, saying jokingly that he couldn't afford them,<ref>{{cite news |title= Busy day for Mr. Benson|newspaper= The Montreal Gazette|date= June 4, 1969|page=16}}</ref> and in [[1970 Canadian federal budget|1970]] proudly displayed his worn soles on budget day.<ref>{{cite news |title= Setting an example?|newspaper= The Windsor Star|date= March 13, 1970|page=13}}</ref>

He later served as [[Minister of National Defence (Canada)|Minister of National Defence]] from January to August 1972, when he retired from politics, choosing not to run in the [[1972 Canadian federal election|1972 election]].

==Later life and death==
Benson served as President of the [[Canadian Transport Commission]] from 1972 to 1982,<ref>{{cite web|title=Taking Control - The Canadian Transport Commission, 1967 to 1988 |url=http://www.cta-otc.gc.ca/eng/publication/chapter-3-taking-control-canadian-transport-commission-1967-1988 |publisher=[[Canadian Transportation Agency]] |access-date=April 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529220605/http://www.cta-otc.gc.ca/eng/publication/chapter-3-taking-control-canadian-transport-commission-1967-1988 |archive-date=2013-05-29 }}</ref> and as Canadian [[Ambassador]] to [[Ireland]] from 1982 to 1985.<ref>{{cite web|title = Benson, Hon. Edgar J. (Non-career)|url = http://www.international.gc.ca/department/history-histoire/hplSearch_results-en.asp?frm=person&lan=1&prsnid=883|publisher = [[Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada]]|access-date = 2013-04-10|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121019071722/http://www.international.gc.ca/department/history-histoire/hplSearch_results-en.asp?frm=person&lan=1&prsnid=883|archive-date = 2012-10-19}}</ref> He died on September 2, 2011, at the age of 88.<ref>{{cite news|title = Edgar John Benson|url = http://yourlifemoments.ca/sitepages/obituary.asp?oId=531584|newspaper = [[Kingston Whig-Standard]]}}</ref>

==Honours==
Benson was conferred honorary degrees as a [[Doctor of Laws]] from:

:* [[Royal Military College of Canada]] in 1973
:* [[Queen's University at Kingston|Queen's University]] in 2008<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.queensu.ca/registrar/students/convocation-graduation/history/honorary-degree-recipients/honorary-degree-recipients-2008|title = Honorary Degree Recipients 2008-2010|publisher = [[Queen's University at Kingston|Queen's University]]|access-date = April 11, 2013}}</ref>

==Electoral record==

===[[Kingston (federal electoral district)|Kingston]]===

{{1962 Canadian federal election/Kingston}}
{{1963 Canadian federal election/Kingston}}
{{1965 Canadian federal election/Kingston}}

===[[Kingston and the Islands (federal electoral district)|Kingston and the Islands]]===

{{1968 Canadian federal election/Kingston and the Islands}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last= Benson|first= E.J.|date= 1969|title= Proposals for tax reform|url= http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/fin/F32-169-1969-eng.pdf|location= Ottawa|publisher= Queen's Printer for Canada}}
* {{cite book |last= Benson|first= E.J.|author-link=Edgar Benson|date= 1971|title= Summary of 1971 Tax Reform Legislation|url= http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/fin/F2-241-1971-eng.pdf|location= Ottawa|publisher= Queen's Printer for Canada}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

== External links ==

* {{cite web |title=Edgar J. Benson fonds |url=http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_archives/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&lang=eng&rec_nbr=156206 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131221223745/http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_archives/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&lang=eng&rec_nbr=156206 |archive-date=2013-12-21 |publisher=[[Library and Archives Canada]] }}
* {{Canadian Parliament links|ID=3145}}
* {{cite news|author = Alan Hustak|url = http://www.v1.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20110913.OBBENSONATL/BDAStory/BDA/deaths|title = Unflappable finance minister rewrote Canada's tax rules|newspaper = [[The Globe and Mail]]|date = September 13, 2011|ref = {{harvid|Hustak|2011}}|access-date = 19 September 2011|archive-date = 3 March 2018|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180303222855/http://www.v1.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20110913.OBBENSONATL/BDAStory/BDA/deaths|url-status = dead}}

{{Navboxes |title=Offices and succession|list1={{S-start}}
{{Canadian federal ministry navigational box header |ministry=20}}
{{ministry box cabinet posts
| post3preceded = [[Donald Stovel Macdonald|Donald Macdonald]]
| post3         = [[Minister of National Defence (Canada)|Minister of National Defence]]
| post3years    = 1972
| post3note     = 
| post3followed = [[Jean-Eudes Dubé]]
| post2preceded = Incumbent
| post2         = [[President of the Treasury Board]]
| post2years    = 1968
| post2note     = 
| post2followed = [[Charles Drury|Bud Drury]]
| post1preceded = [[Mitchell Sharp]]
| post1         = [[Minister of Finance (Canada)|Minister of Finance]]
| post1years    = 2003–2006
| post1note     = 
| post1followed = [[John Turner]]
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{{Canadian federal ministry navigational box header |ministry=19}}
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| post2         = [[President of the Treasury Board]]
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| post1preceded = [[George McIlraith]]
| post1         = [[Minister of National Revenue (Canada)|Minister of National Revenue]]
| post1years    = 1964–1968
| post1followed = [[Jean Chrétien]]
}}
{{Ministry box sub-cabinet posts
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| post1years = 1963–1964
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| post1followed =[[Lawrence Pennell]]
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{{S-ttl|title=Member of Parliament for [[Kingston and the Islands (federal electoral district)|Kingston and the Islands]] | years=1968–1972}}
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{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benson, Edgar}}
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