Steven Guilbeault will become Heritage minister. A former environmental activist from Montreal, he was seen as a star candidate for the Liberals in the recent federal election. He is the only newly-elected member to enter federal cabinet. Pablo Rodriguez will play a key role in a minority parliamentary situation. He was previously Chief Government Whip and most recently Heritage minister.
Prime Minister Trudeau unveils retooled cabinet in advance of 43rd Parliament
“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled his cabinet on Wednesday, with new ministerial roles and key appointments emphasizing outreach toward the Prairie provinces and renewed efforts toward supporting middle class Canadians.
The latest formation of the 29th Canadian Ministry will have 36 ministers, including Trudeau. It’s also gender-balanced, featuring an equal number of male and female ministers.
There is no one representing Alberta, Saskatchewan and the territories in federal cabinet.
Saint Boniface—Saint Vital MP Dan Vandal, who is Métis, will be the lone Indigenous voice at the cabinet table, which has the same number of racialized Canadians than the immediately preceding roster of ministers.
The size of cabinet will grow from its current total of 35 ministers, and includes new titles of minister of diversity, inclusion and youth; middle class prosperity; and disability inclusion.
There are 17 ministers from Ontario, nine from Quebec and four from British Columbia, while the Atlantic provinces and Manitoba each have one minister. The cabinet table is without representation from Alberta and Saskatchewan, where the Liberals failed to win any seats in the most recent election. There are no ministers from the territories, where the Liberals hold two out of the three seats.
Ten of the cabinet ministers are from the Greater Toronto Area, while another five hold seats in the Montreal region. The cabinet has four ministers from Greater Vancouver, two each from the Ottawa and Hamilton metropolitan areas, and one each from Kitchener-Waterloo, Winnipeg and Quebec City.
Jim Carr, who was diagnosed with a form of blood cancer after the Oct. 21 vote, was named as Trudeau’s new representative to the Prairies. The Winnipeg South Centre MP previously served as the international trade minister and likely would have been named to cabinet if not for his health issues.
Ministers were sworn-in at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Wednesday afternoon, in a ceremony with far less pomp and circumstance compared to the unveiling of Trudeau’s cabinet in 2015. For example, this time there were no large screens to view the ceremony inside.
Among key roles, Chrystia Freeland will become Intergovernmental Affairs minister, where she will be handled the delicate task of addressing growing regional divisions, particularly with the Western provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Those two provinces elected only Conservatives to Ottawa in last month’s federal election and premiers of those two provinces, as well as Quebec’s, are pushing for increased autonomy.
Freeland will also become deputy prime minister, a largely ceremonial role revived from the days of Paul Martin. She is widely seen as Trudeau’s best performing minister and as heir-apparent to the leadership of the Liberal Party by some. Born in Alberta, she was a journalist before entering federal politics.
Replacing Freeland as Foreign Affairs minister is Francois-Philippe Champagne, who comes from the Infrastructure and Communities file.
Champagne is also a former International Trade minister, who was a key player in unsuccessful efforts in striking a free trade deal with China in 2017. Before politics, Champagne worked for large multinationals as a lawyer and international trade expert.
Catherine McKenna will replace Champagne as Infrastructure and Communities minister, where she will be tasked with getting billions of dollars out the door to new public transit and green infrastructure projects. McKenna’s time as Environment minister was a lightning rod for criticism, much of it derogatory and personal.
Jonathan Wilkinson will replace her as the new Environment minister. The British Columbia MP was previously Fisheries and Oceans minister. He will lead efforts to implement the next phase of the Liberals’ climate agenda.
Meanwhile, Bill Morneau will stay on as Finance minister. The former Bay Street executive will lead efforts to lower income taxes and check federal spending. During his four years as minister, he struggled to carve out an identity in the key ministerial role compared to previous finance ministers.
Rodriguez will play a key role in a minority parliamentary situation. He was previously Chief Government Whip and most recently Heritage minister.
As well, Patty Hajdu will become Health minister, and is set to have a key role in efforts to implement national pharmacare. She was mostly recently the labour minister.
Among new appointees, Marc Miller will become Indigenous Services minister. A childhood friend of Trudeau, the Montreal MP was previously to parliamentary secretary to the Crown-Indigenous Relations minister.
Steven Guilbeault will become Heritage minister. A former environmental activist from Montreal, he was seen as a star candidate for the Liberals in the recent federal election. He is the only newly-elected member to enter federal cabinet.
Anita Anand will become Public Services and Procurement minister. Anand, a University of Toronto Law School professor, was seen as a star Liberal candidate in last month’s election, where she comfortably held the Oakville seat for the party. A corporate governance and regulation expert, Anand has also taught law at Western University, Yale Law School and Queen’s University.
Kirsty Duncan, the outgoing science and sport minister, and Ginette Petitpas Taylor, the former health minister, were not reappointed to cabinet. Instead, Duncan was named Deputy Government House Leader and Taylor was appointed deputy government whip.
Other ministers that will have new roles:
- Bernadette Jordan becomes Fisheries and Oceans minister
- Bill Blair becomes Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness minister
- Seamus O’Regan becomes Natural Resources minister
- Jean-Yves Duclos becomes Treasury Board president
- Navdeep Bains becomes Innovation, Science and Industry minister
- Bardish Chagger becomes Diversity and Inclusion and Youth minister
- Mona Fortier becomes Middle Class Prosperity and associate minister of Finance
- Karina Gould becomes International Development Minister
- Patty Hadju becomes Health minister
- Ahmed Hussen becomes Families, Children and Social Development minister
- Melanie Joly becomes Economic Development and Official Languages minister
- Dominic LeBlanc becomes President of the Queen’s Privy Council
- Marco Mendicino becomes Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
- Maryam Monsef becomes Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development minister
- Joyce Murray becomes Digital Government minister
- Mary Ng becomes Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade minister
- Seamus O’Regan becomes Natural Resources minister
- Carla Qualtrough becomes Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion minister
- Deb Schulte becomes Seniors minister
- Filomena Tassi becomes Labour minister
- Dan Vandal becomes Northern Affairs minister
Other ministers who will stay on in their current role:
- Justice Minister and Attorney General David Lametti
- Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau
- Transport Minister Marc Garneau
- Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan
- Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett
- National Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier
With files from Kirsten Smith”