Eugene Whelan

Eugene Francis Whelan was born into a rural farming family in Amherstburg, Ontario. Leaving school at sixteen to run the family farm after his father died, Whelan rose through municipal politics to enter Parliament in 1962, appointed Minister of Agriculture by Pierre Trudeau in 1972, a post he held for twelve years.

Wearing his famous green Stetson hat to every international meeting, Whelan championed Canadian family farmers, establishing the modern supply management system for dairy, eggs, and poultry to protect farm incomes from predatory market fluctuations. He later served as president of the UN World Food Council and was appointed to the Senate.