One of this country’s longest serving politicians has died at the age of 96.

Allan MacEachen was a many-time federal Cabinet minister, a retired Senator, one of Canada’s elder statesmen, and the first Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, serving under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.

MacEachen was born on Cape Breton Island, was elected for the first time to the Canadian House of Commons in the 1953 and re-elected in 1957.  After losing his seat in the the Progressive Conservative Diefenbaker sweep in the 1958 election, he was re- elected in 1962 and held his commons seat through 1984.

MacEachen was also Government House Leader on three occasions and may be best remembered as the Finance Minister who brought in wage and price controls in 1982.

He spend a number of years as a member of the Senate retiring in 1995.

Alan MacEachen was 96.