The Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development 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 Human Resources and Skills Development Canada

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada

The Department of Human Resources and Skills Development , operating under the FIP applied title Human Resources and Skills Development Canada , is the department of the Government of Canada responsible for developing, managing and delivering a variety of social programs and services...

, the federal department that oversees programs such as Employment Insurance and Canada Student Loans. The Minister is also in charge of Service Canada

Service Canada

Service Canada is part of a Government of Canada-wide service transformation initiative aimed at responding to Canadians' expressed desire for better, more responsive, less cluttered service from Canadian governments...

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On February 6, 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper transferred the responsibilities of the Minister of Social Development into this portfolio. Although the legislated names did not change, in accordance with this amalgamation the Minister was for a while styled the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development and the department operated as Human Resources and Social Development Canada. This ceased on October 30, 2008 and the name returned to the legislated one.

The current Minister is 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...

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The Minister is also responsible for the:

• Canada Employment Insurance Commission
• Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation
  Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation
  The Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation was a private, independent organization created by an act of the Parliament of Canada in 1998. It received an initial endowment of $2.5 billion from the federal government to provide awards annually for ten years...
  
  
• Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
  Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
  Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is a Crown corporation, owned by the Government of Canada, founded after World War II to provide housing for returning soldiers...
  
  
• Canada Pension Plan: Pension Appeals Board
• Canada Pension Plan: Review Tribunals
• Employment Insurance: Board of Referees
• National Council of Welfare
  National Council of Welfare
  The National Council of Welfare is a Canadian arm's length advisory body to the federal Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development on matters of concern to low-income Canadians....
  
  

Ministers

Key:

No.	Name	Term of office		Political party	Ministry
1	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...	December 12, 2003	January 14, 2005	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...	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.... )
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 14, 2005	May 17, 2005	Liberal
3	Belinda Stronach Belinda Stronach Belinda Caroline Stronach, PC is a Canadian businessperson, philanthropist and former politician. She was a Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons from 2004 to 2008. Originally elected as a Conservative, she later crossed the floor to join the Liberals...	May 17, 2005	February 5, 2006	Liberal
4	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...	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... )
5	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...	January 4, 2007	October 29, 2008	Conservative
6	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...	October 30, 2008	Incumbent	Conservative

Prior to 2003, responsibilities for this portfolio fell under the Minister of Human Resources Development

Minister of Human Resources Development (Canada)

The Minister of Human Resources Development is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the federal government's human resources department, Human Resources Development Canada .-Ministers:Prior to 1996, the post was known as Minister of Employment and...

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