Former federal Liberal cabinet minister Allan MacEachen dies at age 96
OTTAWA — Allan MacEachen, a long-serving Liberal MP and senator from Nova Scotia who was a driving force behind many Canadian social programs, has died at the age of the 96.
The news was announced on Twitter late Tuesday by former Ontario premier and federal MP Bob Rae.
“Have just learned that my dear friend and mentor Allan J. MacEachen has passed away — he was a magnificent parliamentarian, scholar,” said Rae.
MacEachen was one of Canada’s most powerful cabinet ministers of the postwar era and held a variety of posts, including a term as minister of national health and welfare from 1965-1968 during the creation of medicare.