Promotions, demotions, surprises possible as Trudeau cabinet shuffle awaits
Chrystia Freeland's bombshell resignation added more gaping holes to PM's already sparse cabinet
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OTTAWA — Speculation in Ottawa reached a fever pitch as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prepares to shuffle his cabinet.
Word came down Thursday that Trudeau would fill gaping holes in his cabinet on Friday — most notably those left by former finance minister and deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, whose last-minute resignation unleashed a thermonuclear news bomb on Parliament Hill.
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“It could be quite a big overhaul,” said Andrew Perez, a Liberal party strategist and principal of Perez Strategies, who told the Toronto Sun we could see as many as eight cabinet positions filled on Friday.
He said public safety should be an interesting portfolio to watch.
“There was a major border security announcement earlier this week and that’s going to be a key role within terms of the Trump administration,” he said.
Anthony Koch, managing principal of AK Strategies and a former Pierre Poilievre spokesperson, said Friday’s shuffle is meant to instil a sense of renewal in Trudeau’s struggling government.
“To attempt to portray to the public and the opposition that you’re trying a renewal and to take the threats that we’re facing seriously and also to try — for the first time in a long time — to get something close to resembling positive news.”
While cabinet shuffles often strategically secure or grow support in underrepresented regions, senior Conservative strategist Stephen Taylor said the PM could take the opportunity to appease those questioning his leadership.
“He’s not just looking to save the furniture when it comes to a federal election, he’s in the immediate term looking to save his leadership,” Taylor said.
“If he can take some of those disgruntled Liberals and give them an appointment, he takes them off the disgruntled list and puts them on the grateful list.”
Among those could be Don Valley West MP Rob Oliphant, who tweeted on Thursday he’s consulting his riding association executive before taking a public stand on the future of his party’s leadership.
Many new faces are expected to get portfolios.
On Thursday, sources and media reports suggested Ottawa South MP David McGuinty is a candidate for public safety minister.
Other names being bandied about include Winnipeg South MP Terry Duguid — a three-term federal politician who joined government in 2015.
Another is Beaches-East York MP Nate Erskine-Smith, who earlier this year announced his current term would be his last — but sources said a cabinet post may be enough for him to stick around.
“I think you can take to the bank that Nate Erskine-Smith is joining cabinet in housing,” Perez said.
Possibly up for promotion is Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay, who was shuffled out of veterans affairs in 2023 after reports surfaced of veterans seeking medical care being offered medically assisted suicide.
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Perez also thinks Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon could be given a bigger role.
“I could also see (government House leader) Karina Gould getting a promotion, also Mark Holland in health, (Women and Gender Equality Minister) Marci Ien — these are just some names of people that might get promotions,” he said.
Others include Immigration Minister Marc Miller and Anita Anand — who balances both the transport and treasury board files. Canada could also see a new portfolio Friday — Canada-U.S. relations — reportedly offered to Freeland before her high-profile exit earlier this week.
Another much-talked about role is deputy prime minister — a job that sat vacant from 2006, when Anne McLellan held the role under prime minister Paul Martin, until 2019.
“Stephen Harper never had a deputy prime minister and for the first few years of Prime Minister Trudeau’s premiership, he didn’t have a deputy prime minister,” Koch said.
“That’s come out of a unique desire to elevate Chrystia Freeland.”
Koch, Perez and Taylor all agree that role could be retired with Freeland’s exit.
Trudeau’s new cabinet gets sworn in Friday morning at Rideau Hall.
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