The 'Minister of Transport' (
French: ''Ministre des Transports'') is the
Minister of the Crown in the
Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the federal government's transportation regulatory and development department,
Transport Canada. The post was created by
Prime Minister MacKenzie King in
1936.
Since 2006 the position has been
styled the 'Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities', a name change corresponding with responsibility for
Infrastructure Canada being transferred to the portfolio at that time. "Minister of Transport" remains the title for legal purposes.
Transport Canada used to manage most of
Canada's major airports, but in the
1990s, most airports were off loaded to non-profit private airport authorities. The department is now responsible for transportation safety and regulation management.
As of December 2006, the current Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities is
Lawrence Cannon.