Minister for the purposes of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency Act

The Minister for the purposes of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency Act, more commonly the Minister for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency or Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (French: Ministre de l'Agence de promotion économique du Canada atlantique), is the member of the Cabinet of Canada who also serves as the chief executive of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA). The post is traditionally held by an MP from Atlantic Canada, although occasionally the responsibilities have been accorded to a more senior cabinet minister, such as the Industry minister who has in turn delegated some of the authority to a minister of state. Peter MacKay, MP for the federal riding of Central Nova in Nova Scotia, currently serves as the Minister for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. The Minister is also usually responsible for the Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation.

Ministers

1.	Gerald Stairs Merrithew	September 15 1988 - January 29 1989	Cabinet of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney
2.	Elmer MacKay	January 30 1989 - April 20 1991
3.	John Crosbie	April 21 1991 - June 24 1993
4.	Ross Reid	June 25 1993 - November 3 1993	Cabinet of Prime Minister Kim Campbell
5.	David Dingwall	June 30 1994 - January 24 1996	Cabinet of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
6.	John Manley	January 25 1996 - October 16 2000
Several secretaries of state were appointed to assist Manley in this role: Lawrence MacAulay (January 25 1996 - June 10 1997) Fred Mifflin (June 11 1997 - August 2 1999) George Baker (August 3 1999 - October 15 2000)
7.	Brian Tobin	October 17 2000 - January 14 2002
Several ministers of state were appointed to assist Tobin in this role: Bernie Boudreau (October 17 2000 - January 8 2001) Robert Thibault (January 9 2001 - January 14 2002)
8.	Allan Rock	January 15 2002 - December 11 2003
*Gerry Byrne was appointed a minister of state to assist Rock in this role throughout his tenure
9.	Joe McGuire	December 12 2003 - February 5 2006	Cabinet of Prime Minister Paul Martin
10.	Peter MacKay	February 6 2006 -	Cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper