Justin Trudeau shuffles cabinet with new faces, a few surprises
Among the more surprising appointments was Beaches-East York MP Nate Erskine-Smith as Housing Minister
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OTTAWA — Some new faces and a few surprises Friday as the Trudeau government performed what many believe to be its final cabinet shuffle.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his new ministers gathered at Rideau Hall on a bitterly cold Friday morning for the swearing-in ceremony,
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MPs began arriving at 11 a.m., many accompanied by family and loved ones.
The important public safety portfolio will be filled by Ottawa South MP David McGuinty — brother of former Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty — who since 2017 has chaired the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP).
Dominic LeBlanc gave up the role after being named finance minister following Monday’s bombshell resignation of Chrystia Freeland.
Outremont MP Rachel Bendayan is Canada’s newest minister of official languages, while Anita Anand will lose one of her two current portfolios, focusing her time on transport minister while also becoming minister of internal trade.
Presidency of the Treasury Board will transfer from Anand to Moncton–Riverview–Dieppe MP Ginette Petitpas Taylor.
Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon will add employment to his responsibilities while Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree will also double-up, and is now in charge of the Northern Affairs portfolio.
Winnipeg MP Terry Duguid replaces the outgoing Carla Qualtrough as the sport minister, as well as minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada.
Sherbrooke MP Elizabeth Briere becomes national revenue minister, while former Chief Whip Ruby Sahota, representing Brampton North, becomes minister of democratic institutions.
Among the more surprising appointments was Beaches-East York MP Nate Erskine-Smith as Housing Minister, despite his assurances earlier this year that he wasn’t seeking another term.
Dartmouth–Cole Harbour MP Darren Fisher joins cabinet to take over Veterans Affairs.
St. John’s East MP Joanne Thompson is the new minister for seniors.
Freeland’s sudden resignation — coming hours before she was to present the government’s long-awaited fall economic statement — blindsided both reporters and the PMO.
She was only the latest in a string of Trudeau cabinet ministers who’ve either resigned or indicated they’re not running again.
Housing Minister Sean Fraser’s resignation Monday morning was completely eclipsed by Freeland’s news, while former now-former Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault stepped aside on Nov. 20 after dubious and shifting claims about his nonexistent Indigenous heritage.
That resignation came about a month after Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal called it quits after a political career spanning three decades, followed that same day by Sport Minister Carla Qualtrough, who provided few details about why she wasn’t running again, as well as former Procurement Minister Filomena Tassi.
National Revenue Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau also announced she was stepping down, with plans to run for Mayor of Sherbrooke, Que.
Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez quit the Liberal caucus altogether to sit as an independent on Sept. 19 in order to contest the leadership of the Quebec Liberals next month.
Seamus O’Regan, who served a number of portfolios, announced July 18 he’d be stepping down from cabinet and wouldn’t run again, citing personal reasons.
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