What Happened?
Prime Minister Mark Carney put his own stamp yesterday on Cabinet, shaking things up and highlighting his focus on U.S.-Canada trade, the economy, and internal trade barriers.

More than half of the Cabinet is new, signalling a break from the Trudeau era. But Carney also opted to keep or promote key players from his predecessor’s tenure: François-Philippe Champagne remains in Finance; Dominic Leblanc retains Intergovernmental Affairs, U.S.-Canada trade and President of the King’s Privy Council, and adds One Canadian Economy; and Anita Anand moves to Foreign Affairs.

Sean Fraser gets Justice, which requires his strong communication skills, as the Liberals need to prove they can tackle Canadians’ concerns about crime. Carney also handed him responsibility for regulating online harms, including child exploitation and deep fake pornography.

Carney resurrected the Secretaries of State model of Cabinet making, where MPs have specific policy assignments but without full ministries. These junior ministers are invited to Cabinet meetings when their portfolio is discussed. For example, former Olympian Adam Van Koeverden is Secretary of State for Sport.

This “two-tiered” approach means there will be an A-Team — tasked with the big challenges of tackling Trump and tariffs, affordability and housing, and the economy — and a B-team tackling specific policy or niche issues.

Carney’s ambitious election platform promised to reshape how natural resources are developed, to build 500,000 homes a year, and to cut middle class taxes. These tasks will now fall to key new and returning ministers. New Toronto-area MP Tim Hodgson will oversee reforms to accelerate natural resource and infrastructure permitting through a new Major Federal Project Office and streamline federal regulatory processes. Former Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson will be responsible for delivering on the homebuilding promise, including by removing the GST on new rental construction and by working with provinces and municipalities. Champagne will implement the middle class tax cut, and lead efforts to implement additional spending promises with the goal of balancing the operating budget over the next three years.

The new Cabinet has 28 ministers and 10 secretaries of state. Trudeau’s last Cabinet had 39 ministers.

Half of the ministers, not including Carney, are women, as are four of the 10 secretaries of state. That means Carney didn’t quite reach gender parity, but there are members from every province and region.

In all, 13 ministers are returning to Cabinet:

• Dominic LeBlanc (President of the King’s Privy Council, Responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs, and One Canadian Economy),
• François-Philippe Champagne (Finance and National Revenue),
• Mélanie Joly (Industry and Development for Quebec Regions),
• Anita Anand (Foreign Affairs),
• David McGuinty (National Defence),
• Chrystia Freeland (Transport and Internal Trade),
• Steve MacKinnon (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons),
• Joanne Thompson (Fisheries),
• Patty Hajdu (Jobs and Families; responsibility for Northern Ontario),
• Sean Fraser (Justice and Attorney General),
• Steven Guilbeault (Canadian Identity and Culture; responsibility for Official Languages),
• Gary Anandasangaree (Public Safety), and
• Rechie Valdez (Women and Gender Equality and Secretary of State for Small Business and Tourism).

Ruby Sahota, a former minister, is now Secretary of State for Combatting Crime.

There are 24 new members of Cabinet, with 13 of them just elected to federal office for the first time.

Here’s what you need to know.

Who’s New to Cabinet?

Shafqat Ali, President of The Treasury Board.

Rebecca Alty, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations

Rebecca Chartrand, Minister of Northern and Arctic Affairs and Minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency.

Julie Dabrusin, Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

Mandy Gull-Masty, Minister of Indigenous Services.

Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources.

Joël Lightbound, Minister of Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement.

Heath MacDonald, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

Jill McKnight, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence.

Lena Metlege Diab, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.

Gregor Robertson, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development.

Eleanor Olszewski, Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience and Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada.

Maninder Sidhu, Minister of International Trade.

Marjorie Michel, Minister of Health.

Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.

Who’s New – Secretaries of State?

Buckley Belanger, Secretary of State (Rural Development).

Stephen Fuhr, Secretary of State (Defence Procurement).

Anna Gainey, Secretary of State (Children and Youth).

Wayne Long, Secretary of State (Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions).

Stephanie McLean, Secretary of State (Seniors).

Nathalie Provost, Secretary of State (Nature).

Randeep Sarai, Secretary of State (International Development).

Adam Van Koeverden, Secretary of State (Sport).

John Zerucelli, Secretary of State (Labour).

What’s Next?

The Carney team can now shift to governing. We expect cabinet meetings this week as ministers get briefed on their portfolios.

Over the next ten days, we also expect a national caucus meeting to take place as MPs prepare for the opening of Parliament with a Speech from the Throne on May 27, to be delivered by King Charles III.

Carney will focus on geopolitical challenges – especially from President Donald Trump. He ran on standing up to Trump. He also will work to address key domestic priorities like internal trade barriers, housing, crime, and promised income tax cuts.

It remains unclear whether the government will seek to pass a full budget before it ends the upcoming sitting, but it is likely some legislative measures will be launched to enact key campaign promises, from a single-window approach to natural resource permitting to taking the GST off the first $1 million of new homes sold for less than $1.3 million.

This minority government is expected to act more like a majority, given it is just a few votes shy of a majority and no other party has an immediate appetite for another election.

Meanwhile, preparations are underway for the G7 Summit, which Canada will host in Kananaskis, Alberta June 15 to 17. The summit will offer Carney an opportunity to showcase his global experience. It will also mean a second in-person meeting with Trump.

In the coming weeks, Carney is expected to name parliamentary secretaries with focused mandates tied to both core policy areas and political priorities. While some House committees may be formed, most may not be finalized until the fall.

Political staffing of ministers’ offices now will move into high gear, with the recruitment of chiefs of staff and senior advisors. But it always takes time – likely into the summer.

For stakeholders seeking to meet with ministers soon, staffing delays could make it more difficult. Key staff who stayed in ministers’ offices during the election campaign will likely help during the transition and serve as key points of contact.

If you are looking for more insight into the new cabinet, please email us at info@mcmillanvantage.com.

You are also invited to join us on Wednesday, May 21, in Ottawa, for cocktails and a conversation about what you need to know about the Carney government. RSVP here.