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Edgar John Benson

The Honourable
Edgar John Benson
PC, FCA, BComm
Edgar John Benson.jpg
Member of Parliament
for Kingston (1962–1968);
Kingston and the Islands (1968–1972)
In office
1962–1972
Preceded by Benjamin Graydon Allmark
Succeeded by Flora MacDonald
Personal details
Born May 28, 1923
Cobourg, Ontario
Died September 2, 2011(2011-09-02) (aged 88)
Ottawa, Ontario
Resting place Beechwood Cemetery
Political party Liberal
Spouse(s) Marie Louise van Laer (1946–1974)
Mary Jane Binks (1987–2011)
Alma mater Queen's University (1949)
Profession Chartered Accountant (1952)
Religion Protestant
Military service
Service/branch 1st Survey Regiment, RCA
I Canadian Corps
Years of service 1941–1946
Rank Sergeant

Edgar John "Ben" Benson PC, FCA, BComm (May 28, 1923 – September 2, 2011) was a Canadian politician, businessman, diplomat, and university professor. He held four Cabinet posts, most notably that of Minister of Finance under Pierre Trudeau, where he was instrumental in reforming Canada's income tax law. 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."

After serving overseas in the Second World War as a sergeant in the Royal Canadian Artillery, Benson attended 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. Prior to his entry into politics, he was also a lecturer in Business Administration at Queen's, in the capacity of Assistant Professor of Commerce.

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


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