Canada 360 | The choice of the new Trudeau cabinet, a futile exercise?

The composition of the new federal cabinet will be unveiled early next week. The new ministers will be appointed by the Governor General of Canada, Mary Simon, on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. While this moment is eagerly awaited by politicians, for the majority of Canadians, it will go unnoticed. In fact, most ministers go incognito once outside the precincts of parliament.

We can therefore wonder about the strategic importance of the selection of the new Trudeau cabinet. The truth is, cabinet is no longer the decision-making body it once was. Nevertheless, the cabinet continues to play a leading role in terms of representativeness. Moreover, the choice of ministers is of particular importance in the context of a minority government.

The weakening of the cabinet

Over half a century ago, the federal cabinet was at the heart of power in Ottawa. It was made up of influential ministers, chosen on the basis of their ability to act as bridges between Ottawa and the regions of Canada. It was not uncommon to see a minister spending his entire political career within a single ministry and developing a great deal of expertise in his portfolio. All important decisions for the country were taken collectively within the ministerial cabinet.

However, this reality gradually changed with the expansion of the welfare state after World War II. With the proliferation of government programs and initiatives, it has become difficult for the federal cabinet to collectively address all national issues. To solve this problem, the cabinet committee system was created. It is these select committees that have been delegated responsibilities for the development and coordination of public policies.

Today, it is not the entire ministerial cabinet that unofficially makes important decisions, but rather a few key cabinet committees.

The cabinet committee on government agenda, results and communications, which is chaired by the prime minister himself and sub-chaired by his right-hand man, Chrystia Freeland, is the most influential today.

The Prime Minister retains control over the cabinet committee system. In addition to strategically choosing which ministers sit on committees, he oversees the work of each committee with the assistance of the Prime Minister’s Office and the Privy Council Office which acts as his personal department. The cabinet committee system has helped centralize power in the hands of the prime minister and weakens the cabinet as a governing body.

The imperative of representation

If the federal cabinet plays a role, it is in terms of the representativeness of Canadian society. Regional representation has always been a preoccupation of prime ministers for the formation of their cabinet. Even when a government has few elected officials in a given region, a premier may consider appointing a senator representing a particular province to sit in cabinet. In choosing his next cabinet, Trudeau will have to select several ministers from the western provinces to appease the latter who voted strongly for the Conservative Party in the last election.

Gender representation in the federal cabinet also remains one of the prime ministers’ priorities. In recent decades, women have been overrepresented in cabinet relative to their total weight in Parliament. Public expectations in this regard have increased. During his first election as Prime Minister, Trudeau appointed the first joint federal cabinet.

Since entering politics, Trudeau has defined himself as a feminist. It is therefore not surprising that he has already confirmed that his next cabinet will be made up of at least 50% women.

Trudeau will also try to include in his cabinet representatives of the BIPOC and LGBTQ communities, as well as those of official language minority communities. This search for representativeness obviously has advantages, but also drawbacks. On the one hand, the government ensures that it has a certain legitimacy with the population, which is reflected in government institutions while preserving national unity. On the other hand, the majority of ministers, apart from the Prime Minister’s close guard, are not chosen on the basis of their expertise and experience. In the end, the firm gives the illusion of being powerful while the decision-making power resides elsewhere.

Minority government

In a minority government context, the choice of the Council of Ministers certainly becomes more complex for the Prime Minister. A minority government means a reduced government deputation and therefore fewer potential candidates for ministerial posts. In addition, a minority government must be able to negotiate with certain opposition parties to advance its legislative agenda. In addition to considerations related to representativeness, Trudeau will have to select competent ministers to ensure the passage of his bills and ensure that his electoral promises are fulfilled.

If the choice of a firm is not necessarily a futile exercise, the fact remains that it is a difficult exercise!

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