Our Minister

The Honourable John McCallum was appointed by Prime Minister Paul Martin to act as Minister of Natural Resources Canada on September 26, 2005. Mr. McCallum is also currently serving as Minister of National Revenue, a portfolio to which he was first appointed in July 2004.

John McCallum was elected to the House of Commons in November 2000. He was appointed Minister of Veterans Affairs in 2003. Previously, he served as Minister of National Defence from May 2002 to December 2003, and Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions) from January to May 2002. Prior to his appointment to Cabinet, he served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance. As well, he served as Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration and as a member of the Standing Committee on Finance.

Before entering politics, Mr. McCallum was senior vice-president and chief economist of the Royal Bank of Canada, responsible for providing economic analysis and commentary both within the bank and to clients and the public.

Mr. McCallum worked as a professor of economics at McGill University (1987-94), Université du Québec à Montréal (1982-87), Simon Fraser University (1978-82), and the University of Manitoba (1976-78). Prior to joining the Royal Bank, he was dean of the faculty of arts at McGill University.

He is the author or co-author of eight books or monographs, as well as many articles. He has written on fiscal and monetary issues, comparative macroeconomic performance of OECD countries, Canada-U.S. economic integration, and other economic topics.

A native of Montreal, Mr. McCallum obtained a bachelor of arts from Cambridge University, a diplôme d'études supérieures from Université de Paris and a doctorate in economics from McGill University. Mr. McCallum and his wife, Nancy Lim, have three children.

Minister McCallum to act as Minister of Natural Resources

Minister Efford