The new federal cabinet was sworn in today, here’s what you need to know.
About half of the positions remained unchanged, indicating the government’s need for experienced hands in a minority scenario where cross-party collaboration will become the order of the day. Geographically, most of the cabinet positions are held by Greater Toronto Area (GTA) or Quebec Members of Parliament (MPs), some of whom have strategic ties to Alberta. Where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has chosen to shake things up, however, indicates the Liberal government’s direction to show the lessons learned during the recent campaign and the imperative of holding onto power in a minority.
Chrystia Freeland becomes the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, focusing her well-honed foreign diplomatic and negotiating abilities on managing domestic relations. No small task in the midst of western alienation, the rise of Quebec sovereignty, and a growing number of conservative Premiers. Of important note, Minister Freeland will continue to oversee USMCA and US-Canada relations.
Supporting Freeland’s efforts will be Pablo Rodriguez as the Quebec Lieutenant and Jim Carr as the Special Advisor for the Prairies. Rodriguez is also serving as the House Leader, arguably the most important role in a minority government. In this role, Rodriguez will be in constant negotiation with other party leaders to get the support needed to pass bills and keep government running. A long-time MP who previously served as chief government whip, Rodriguez has deep House management experience.
François-Philippe Champagne, who is highly regarded across party lines, steps into the Foreign Affairs portfolio with his charm and effervescence in tow. He will need all of it to turn the page on Canada-China relations and will support building the relationship with the United States in an election year. A trade lawyer who previously served as Minister of Infrastructure and Minister of Trade, he is a rising star in Liberal politics.
Dominic LeBlanc, the most senior parliamentarian and deeply trusted by the inner circle of the PMO, becomes the Privy Council President as he continues to recover from cancer.
OTHER CABINET CHANGES TO NOTE
- Jonathan Wilkinson will need to balance his new role as Minister of Environment with his home province of British Columbia’s opposition to the Trans Mountain pipeline.
- Catherine McKenna, in her new role as Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, can be expected to focus her attentions on green infrastructure investments.
- Patty Hadju will now take on the challenge of making pharmacare a reality in her role as Minister of Health. She will likely also be a champion for fighting the opioid crisis given her past work with drug awareness organizations in Thunder Bay.
- Jean-Yves Duclos becomes the President of the Treasury Board, where he will continue to drive the middle class-childcare benefit narrative. He is also a valued voice as an economist who went to school in Alberta.
- Bill Blair gets a major promotion and takes over for Ralph Goodale in Public Safety. He will have to stick-handle the diplomatic delicacies around Huawei’s intelligence review.
FRESH FACES TO WATCH
- Marco Mendocino, the well-deserving former prosecutor from the GTA, is finally rewarded with a seat at the cabinet table. Since being elected in 2015, Mendocino has been the Liberal’s most loyal and effective communicator in the media.
- Anita Anand, a newly elected, first-time MP, now serves as the Minister of Public Services and Procurement. This law professor from Oakville was born and raised in Nova Scotia and taught at Yale Law. This is a significant portfolio which supports 140 departments and agencies and oversees billions of dollars of government spending.
- Steven Guilbeault, was one of the Liberal Party’s most prominent star candidates. Also a first-time MP, he was previously the head of Greenpeace Quebec. He is now the Minister of Canadian Heritage.
- Marc Miller, the new Minister of Indigenous Services, was an infantry commander in the Army and recently taught himself to speak Mohawk, a sign of his commitment to reconciliation.
WHAT’S NEXT?
We’ve included the full Cabinet list below, but feel free to set up a call with the McMillan Vantage team to discuss who’s who in the new Cabinet.
Next up? The release of Mandate Letters and the December 5th return of the House for the Speech from the Throne. What’s it going to take to keep this minority ship afloat?
CABINET LIST:
|
CABINET POSITION |
NAME |
RIDING |
PROVINCE |
|
Agriculture and Agri-Food |
Marie-Claude Bibeau |
Compton-Stanstead |
QC |
|
Attorney General, Justice |
David Lametti |
LaSalle-Emard-Verdun |
QC |
|
Canadian Heritage |
Steven Guilbeault |
Laurier-Sainte-Marie |
QC |
|
Crown-Indigenous Relations |
Carolyn Bennett |
Toronto-St.Paul’s |
ON |
|
Digital Government |
Joyce Murray |
Vancouver Quadra |
BC |
|
Diversity and Inclusion and Youth |
Bardish Chagger |
Waterloo |
ON |
|
Economic Development and Official Languages |
Melanie Joly |
Ahuntsic-Cartierville |
QC |
|
Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion |
Carla Qualtrough |
Delta |
BC |
|
Environment and Climate Change |
Jonathan Wilkinson |
North Vancouver |
BC |
|
Families, Children and Social Development |
Ahmed Hussen |
York South-Weston |
ON |
|
Finance |
Bill Morneau |
Toronto Centre |
ON |
|
Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard |
Bernadette Jordan |
South Shore—St. Margaret’s |
NS |
|
Foreign Affairs |
Francois-Phillippe Champagne |
Saint-Maurice-Champlain |
QC |
|
Health |
Patty Hajdu |
Thunder Bay-Superior North |
ON |
|
Immigration, Refugees, Citizenship |
Marco E. L. Mendicino |
Eglington-Lawrence |
ON |
|
Indigenous Services |
Marc Miller |
Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Sœurs |
QC |
|
Infrastructure and Communities |
Catherine McKenna |
Ottawa Centre |
ON |
|
Innovation, Science and Industry |
Navdeep Bains |
Mississauga-Malton |
ON |
|
Intergovernmental Affairs, Deputy Prime Minister |
Chrystia Freeland |
University-Rosedale
|
ON |
|
International Development |
Karina Gould |
Burlington |
ON |
|
Labour |
Filomena Tassi |
Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas |
ON |
|
Leader of the Government in the House of Commons |
Pablo Rodriguez |
Honore-Mercier |
QC |
|
Middle Class Prosperity A. Finance |
Mona Fortier |
Ottawa-Vanier |
ON |
|
National Defence |
Harjit Sajjan |
Vancouver South |
BC |
|
National Revenue |
Diane Lebouthillier |
Gaspesie-Les-Iles-de-la-Madeleine |
QC |
|
Natural Resources |
Seamus O’Regan |
St. John’s South – Mount Pearl |
NL |
|
Northern Affairs |
Dan Vandal |
St. Boniface |
MB |
|
President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada |
Dominic LeBlanc |
Beausejour |
NB |
|
Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness |
Bill Blair |
Scarborough-Southwest |
ON |
|
Public Services and Procurement
|
Anita Anand |
Oakville |
ON |
|
Rural Economic Development and Women and Gender Equality |
Maryam Monsef |
Peterborough-Kawartha |
ON |
|
Seniors |
Deb Schulte |
King-Vaughan |
ON |
|
Small Business, Export Promotion, and International Trade |
Mary Ng |
Markham-Thornhill |
ON |
|
Transport |
Marc Garneau |
Notre-Dame-de-Grace-Westmount |
QC |
|
Treasury Board |
Jean-Yves Duclos |
Quebec |
QC |
|
Veterans Affairs, A. National Defence |
Lawrence MacAulay |
Cardigan |
PEI |
