Several Quebec ministers inherit new responsibilities within the Trudeau government. Steven Guilbeault is sent to Environment and Climate Change, Mélanie Joly to Foreign Affairs and Jean-Yves Duclos to Health, while Pablo Rodriguez is given the portfolio of Canadian Heritage.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a big shuffle in his team of ministers on Tuesday, five weeks after being re-elected as head of a second minority government. This new cabinet, however, excludes the Montreal MP and ex-astronaut Marc Garneau, who was Minister of Foreign Affairs until now. Bardish Chagger (Diversity and Inclusion and Youth) and Jim Carr (Special Representative for the Prairies) suffered the same fate.
The new Member of Parliament for Brome-Missisquoi, Pascale St-Onge, has access to Cabinet. She is Minister of Sports and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau decided.
Guilbeault at the Environment
Arrived in politics in 2019 after a career as an environmental activist, Steven Guilbeault is entrusted – a few days before the kickoff of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP 26) – the reins of the Ministry of the Environment and of Climate Change. His predecessor, Jonathan Wilkinson, moved on to Natural Resources.
Mr. Guilbeault had led the controversial reform of the Broadcasting Act, whose Bill C-10 died on the order paper when the last general election was called. The Liberals campaigned on campaigning to reintroduce a version of this bill within the first 100 days. This file now falls to Minister Pablo Rodriguez, who has already managed this portfolio, before the 2019 elections. The Montreal politician remains a lieutenant of Quebec.
Fewer than ten ministers remain in their posts, first and foremost the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, but also François-Philippe Champagne (Innovation, Sciences and Industry), Diane Lebouthillier (National Revenue) or even Marie-Claude Bibeau (Agriculture and Agri-food), in particular.
Duclos to Health
Health is the responsibility of two ministers. Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos will work alongside Associate Health Minister Carolyn Bennett, who has been appointed Minister of Mental Health and Addictions.
This new cabinet is also bigger than the previous one, with 39 ministers (against 37), including the Prime Minister. Alberta will be represented in the cabinet by Franco-Albertan MP Randy Boissonnault, new Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance. Nova Scotia MP Sean Fraser inherits the portfolio of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.
Ontario Minister Anita Anand takes over as head of National Defense. His predecessor, Harjit Sajjan, was grappling with numerous scandals of a sexual nature in the senior ranks of the military. The opposition demanded his departure, but the Trudeau government instead placed him in International Development.
Justin Trudeau prides himself on having formed “a strong and diverse Cabinet” which will work to “do [re] advancing Canada for the good of all ”. “This team will end the fight against COVID-19, set up $ 10 a day child care, help Canadians access homeownership, tackle the climate crisis, and continue to advance reconciliation with indigenous peoples, ”he argues.
In the last election in September, voters showed the door to three federal ministers: Bernadette Jordan (Fisheries, Oceans and Coast Guard), Maryam Monsef (Women and Gender Equality) and Deb Schulte (Seniors). A fourth woman on the cabinet, Catherine McKenna (Infrastructure and Communities), had left politics before the start of the campaign. Prime Minister Trudeau had promised to maintain parity between men and women among his ministers.
Further details will follow.