The composition of Justin Trudeau’s new cabinet should represent his government’s willingness to meet several important commitments, including climate change and affordable housing.
Two high-level government sources say the prime minister has chosen ministers he says will be able to quickly mobilize the government apparatus to act on priority issues – in the same way the government has been able to distribute billions of dollars emergency assistance programs to keep Canadians afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The two sources spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly about Tuesday’s cabinet swearing-in ceremony.
As he makes room for new faces, Justin Trudeau is expected to remove Foreign Minister Marc Garneau from cabinet.
He is also expected to transfer Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson to Natural Resources, with a focus on clean tech.
Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault, a respected environmentalist in Quebec before his launch into politics in 2019, is expected to take charge of the Environment portfolio.
Other priority areas for Justin Trudeau’s Liberal minority government include ending the fight against COVID-19, rebuilding a greener and more equitable economy, long-term investments in health care, and reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.
The new roster of ministers remained a closely guarded secret on Monday, but the focus on speed suggests Justin Trudeau may want experienced hands on priority issues and may also be planning structural changes to some departments to put more emphasis. in some areas.
Justin Trudeau said his new cabinet would maintain gender parity, be regionally balanced and reflect Canada’s diversity.
The Prime Minister will therefore have had to find women in his caucus to replace the Minister of Infrastructure, Catherine McKenna, who did not represent herself, and three female ministers who lost their seats in last month’s elections: Bernadette Jordan at Fisheries , Maryam Monsef at Gender Equality and Deb Schulte at Elders.
While only Justin Trudeau and a handful of his closest advisers know who the Prime Minister will choose to fill these vacancies, speculation has centered on rookie Halifax West MP Lena Metlege Diab, a former provincial justice minister. , to fill the position of Bernadette Jordan in Nova Scotia.
To represent the Ottawa region where Catherine McKenna was, Orléans MP Marie-France Lalonde, a former provincial minister, the new Kanata-Carleton MP Jenna Sudds, a former deputy mayor of Ottawa, or the veteran MP Ottawa West-Nepean Anita Vandenbeld could be considered.
Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan should be moved, but not completely excluded from the cabinet. Justin Trudeau came under further pressure Monday from the Conservatives to dump Harjit Sajjan for what they describe as his mismanagement of sexual misconduct among senior military officials.
Randy Boissonnault, elected in Edmonton Center in 2015, defeated in 2019 and re-elected last month, is considered one of the cabinet candidates despite being one of only two Liberals elected in Alberta.
Justin Trudeau has already announced that Chrystia Freeland will retain her dual role of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.
He received unsolicited advice from the opposition on Monday on which MPs should not be selected.
In addition to calling for Harjit Sajjan’s removal from cabinet, Conservatives are warning the Prime Minister against the appointment of Fredericton MP Jenica Atwin, who left the Greens last spring following a dispute with the leadership of this party on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Jenica Atwin, who called Israel an apartheid state, was reelected as a liberal last month.
Meanwhile, the NDP and some Indigenous leaders are calling on Justin Trudeau to get rid of Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett, who they accuse of failing to deliver on the Liberal government’s commitment to reconciliation.
Once sworn in, any new minister will quickly get a crash course on his portfolio and try to soak up the multiple files before returning to the House in a month, on November 22.
The Liberals have said they will quickly put the Commons focus on an overhaul of federal aid during a pandemic, which the government unveiled on Thursday. Ottawa will not renew the Canada Economic Stimulus Benefit beyond October 23 and will replace business assistance with more targeted $ 7.4 billion programs, including tourism and culture.
The swearing-in ceremony, chaired by the new Governor General, Mary May Simon, will begin at Rideau Hall at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday.