Cabinet shakeup swaps key front bench portfolios and introduces some new faces
Catharine Tunney - CBC News
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today dropped seven ministers and named new ministers of defence and public safety — an almost complete overhaul of his cabinet at a time of heightened tension overseas and domestic scandals at home.
Trudeau unveiled a new cabinet team with a renewed focus on economic priorities, like housing, during a ceremony at Rideau Hall. The shuffle brings in several new faces and tasks a handful of ministers with new roles.
Bill Blair will take over the defence portfolio from Anita Anand, who becomes president of the Treasury Board.
Blair, a former police chief who was most recently the minister of emergency preparedness, becomes the country's point person at NATO and will be responsible for Canada's response to the war in Ukraine.
Dominic LeBlanc will now lead public safety, an often-challenging portfolio that includes the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the RCMP. He also takes on the democratic institutions file and will continue to serve as intergovernmental affairs minister.
LeBlanc will play a key role in determining how the government responds to allegations that China interfered in the past two federal elections, and in its response to the damning report on the RCMP's handling of the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia.
His predecessor, Marco Mendicino, was dropped from cabinet. His demotion ends a tenure at the cabinet table plagued by multiple controversies, including the government's poorly received gun control legislation and lingering questions on the foreign interference file.
More recently, Mendicino has been under intense pressure due to the controversy over the transfer of serial killer Paul Bernardo to a medium-security prison.
Seven new MPs received a promotion to cabinet:
Toronto MP Arif Virani, who represents Parkdale—High Park, becomes minister of justice and attorney general of Canada
Quebec MP Soraya Martinez Ferrada, who represents the riding of Hochelaga, becomes the minister of tourism and minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for Quebec Regions.
Gary Anandasangaree, who represents Scarborough—Rouge Park, becomes minister of Crown-Indigenous relations
B.C. MP Terry Beech of Burnaby North—Seymour becomes minister of citizens' services
Toronto-area MP Ya'ara Saks, who represents York Centre, becomes minister of mental health and addictions and associate minister of health
Ottawa-area MP Jenna Sudds, who represents, Kanata—Carleton, becomes minister of families, children and social development
Mississauga—Streetsville MP Rechie Valdez becomes minister of small business
Wednesday's shuffle also saw multiple current ministers change positions or add to their portfolios:
Pablo Rodriguez becomes transport minister
Pascale St-Onge becomes minister of Canadian heritage
Mark Holland becomes minister of health
Sean Fraser becomes minister of housing, infrastructure and communities
Lawrence MacAulay becomes minister of agriculture
Jean-Yves Duclos becomes minister of public services and procurement
Marie-Claude Bibeau becomes minister of national revenue
Gudie Hutchings becomes minister of rural economic development and minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Diane Lebouthillier becomes minister of fisheries, oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard
Harjit Sajjan becomes president of the King's Privy Council, minister of emergency preparedness and minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada
Carla Qualtrough becomes minister of sport and physical activity
Karina Gould becomes government House leader
Ahmed Hussen becomes minister of international development
Seamus O'Regan becomes minister of labour and seniors
Ginette Petitpas Taylor becomes minister of veterans affairs
Mary Ng becomes minister of export promotion, international trade and economic development
Jonathan Wilkinson becomes minister of energy and natural resources
Marc Miller becomes minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship
Randy Boissonnault becomes minister of employment workforce development and official languages
Kamal Khera becomes minister of diversity, inclusion and persons with disabilities.
Some ministers kept their portfolios:
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly
Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault
Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne
Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu, also minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario
Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario Filomena Tassi
Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal, also minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada and the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency
Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth Marci Ien
Gould recently announced she is expecting her second child in the new year. Trudeau announced Wednesday that Government Whip Steve MacKinnon will serve as House leader in her absence and Ruby Sahota will fill in as whip.
Apart from Mendicino, six other ministers were dropped from cabinet:
Former justice minister David Lametti
Former public services and procurement minister Helena Jaczek
Former transport minister Omar Alghabra
Former mental health and addictions minister Carolyn Bennett
Former fisheries minister Joyce Murray
Former president of the Treasury Board Mona Fortier.
Mona Fortier David Lametti Marco Mendicino composite
Catharine Tunney is a reporter with CBC's Parliament Hill bureau, where she covers national security and the RCMP. She worked previously for CBC in Nova Scotia. You can reach her at catharine.tunney@cbc.ca
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