The Associate Minister of National Defence is a member of 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...

 responsible for various files within the defence department

Department of National Defence (Canada)

The Department of National Defence , frequently referred to by its acronym DND, is the department within the government of Canada with responsibility for all matters concerning the defence of Canada...

 as assigned by the Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Canada

The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...

 or Defence Minister

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....

.

The position was created in 1940 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 under the War Measures Act

War Measures Act

The War Measures Act was a Canadian statute that allowed the government to assume sweeping emergency powers in the event of "war, invasion or insurrection, real or apprehended"...

 along with the creation of a Minister of Defence for Air and a Minister of Defence for Naval Services. These positions lapsed with the end of the war. The position of Associate Minister of Defence was recreated in 1953 when the National Defence Act was amended to provide for the appointment in peacetime.

This post remained vacant under Pierre Trudeau

Pierre Trudeau

Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, , usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968 to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984.Trudeau began his political career campaigning for socialist ideals,...

, Joe Clark

Joe Clark

Charles Joseph "Joe" Clark, is a Canadian statesman, businessman, and university professor, and former journalist and politician...

 and John Turner

John Turner

John Napier Wyndham Turner, PC, CC, QC is an English Canadian lawyer and retired politician, who served as the 17th Prime Minister of Canada from June 30 to September 17, 1984....

. Brian Mulroney

Brian Mulroney

Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...

 revived the position but it was abolished under Kim Campbell

Kim Campbell

Avril Phædra Douglas "Kim" Campbell, is a Canadian politician, lawyer, university professor, diplomat, and writer. She served as the 19th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 25, 1993, to November 4, 1993...

 when she decreased the size of cabinet from 35 to 24 ministers. The post was also not used under 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....

.

This position reappeared on December 12, 2003 when 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....

 chose his first cabinet and named Albina Guarnieri

Albina Guarnieri

Albina Guarnieri, PC, MP is a former politician. She was a member of Paul Martin's Liberal government and was Canada's 24th Minister of Veterans Affairs...

 as the Associate Minister of National Defence and Minister of State

Minister of state (Canada)

A Minister of State is a junior cabinet minister in the Canadian Cabinet, usually given specific responsibilities to assist a senior cabinet minister in a specific area....

 for Civil Preparedness, and the portfolio passed to Mauril Bélanger

Mauril Bélanger

Mauril A. Bélanger, PC, MP is a Member of the Canadian Parliament. He is a member of the Liberal Party. Bélanger has been involved in advocacy for the rights of Franco-Ontarians....

 in a subsequent reshuffle. Stephen 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...

 did not name anyone to the position until his May 18, 2011 reshuffle, when Julian Fantino

Julian Fantino

Julian Fantino is a retired police official and the elected Member of the Parliament of Canada for the riding of Vaughan following a November 29, 2010 by-election...

 was appointed to the portfolio.

Associate Ministers of National Defence

#	Minister	Prime Minister	Tenure
1.	Charles Gavan Power Charles Gavan Power Charles Gavan "Chubby" Power, MC, PC was a Canadian politician and athlete. Power's father, William Power, was also a Member of Parliament from Quebec, retiring in 1917...	King William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926; from September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930; and from October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948...	July 12, 1940 - November 26, 1944
	vacant	King William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926; from September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930; and from October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948...	November 27, 1944 - November 15, 1948
	vacant	St-Laurent	November 15, 1948 - February 11, 1953
2.	Ralph Osborne Campney	St-Laurent	February 12, 1953 - June 30, 1954
	vacant	St-Laurent	July 1, 1954 - April 26, 1957
3.	Paul Hellyer Paul Hellyer Paul Theodore Hellyer, PC is a Canadian engineer, politician, writer and commentator who has had a long and varied career. He is the longest serving current member of the Privy Council, just ahead of Prince Philip.-Early life:...	St-Laurent	April 27, 1957 - June 20, 1957
	vacant	Diefenbaker	June 21, 1957 - August 19, 1959
4.	Pierre Sévigny Pierre Sévigny Joseph Pierre Albert Sévigny, PC, OC, CD, VM, ED was a Canadian soldier, author, politician, and academic. He is best known for his involvement in the Munsinger Affair....	Diefenbaker	August 20, 1959 - February 8, 1963
	vacant	Diefenbaker	February 9, 1963 - April 21, 1963
5.	Louis Joseph Lucien Cardin	Pearson	April 22, 1963 - February 14, 1965
6.	Léo Alphonse Joseph Cadieux	Pearson	February 15, 1965 - September 18, 1967
	vacant	Pearson	September 19, 1967 - April 20, 1968
	vacant	Trudeau	April 20, 1968 - June 3, 1979
	vacant	Clark Joe Clark Charles Joseph "Joe" Clark, is a Canadian statesman, businessman, and university professor, and former journalist and politician...	June 4, 1979 - March 2, 1980
	vacant	Trudeau	March 3, 1980 - June 29, 1984
	vacant	Turner	June 30, 1984 - September 16, 1984
	vacant	Mulroney Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...	September 17, 1984 - August 19, 1985
7.	Harvie Andre Harvie Andre Harvie Andre, PC is a Canadian engineer and businessman and a former Canadian politician and federal Cabinet minister.Born in Edmonton, Alberta on July 27, 1940), Andre was educated at the University of Alberta and pursued part of his postgraduate studies at the California Institute of Technology...	Mulroney Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...	August 20, 1985 - June 29, 1986
8.	Paul Dick Paul Dick Paul Wyatt Dick, PC is a lawyer and former Canadian politician.He was born in Kapuskasing, Ontario, the son of Wyatt Dick and Constance Grace Harrison, and educated in Arnprior, Port Hope, at the University of Western Ontario and the University of New Brunswick. Dick was called to the Ontario bar...	Mulroney Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...	June 30, 1986 - June 29, 1989
9.	Mary Collins Mary Collins Mary Collins, PC is a former Canadian politician.She was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 1984 federal election as the Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament for Capilano, British Columbia....	Mulroney Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...	June 30, 1986 - January 3, 1993
	vacant	Mulroney Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...	January 4, 1993 - June 24, 1993
	vacant	Campbell Kim Campbell Avril Phædra Douglas "Kim" Campbell, is a Canadian politician, lawyer, university professor, diplomat, and writer. She served as the 19th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 25, 1993, to November 4, 1993...	June 25, 1993 - November 3, 1993
	vacant	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....	November 4, 1993 - December 11, 2003
10.	Albina Guarnieri Albina Guarnieri Albina Guarnieri, PC, MP is a former politician. She was a member of Paul Martin's Liberal government and was Canada's 24th Minister of Veterans Affairs...	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....	December 12, 2003 - July 20, 2004
11.	Mauril Bélanger Mauril Bélanger Mauril A. Bélanger, PC, MP is a Member of the Canadian Parliament. He is a member of the Liberal Party. Bélanger has been involved in advocacy for the rights of Franco-Ontarians....	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....	July 20, 2004 - February 6, 2006
	vacant	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...	6 February 2006 - 18 May 2011
12.	Julian Fantino Julian Fantino Julian Fantino is a retired police official and the elected Member of the Parliament of Canada for the riding of Vaughan following a November 29, 2010 by-election...	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...	18 May 2011 - present