Trudeau overhauls his cabinet, drops 7 ministers and shuffles most portfolios

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today dropped seven ministers and named new ministers of defence and public safety — an almost complete overhaul of his cabinet at a time of heightened tension overseas and domestic scandals at home.

Trudeau unveiled a new cabinet team with a renewed focus on economic priorities, such as housing, during a ceremony at Rideau Hall. The shuffle brings in several new faces and tasks more than a dozen ministers with new roles.

Toronto-area MP Bill Blair will take over the defence portfolio from Anita Anand, who becomes president of the Treasury Board.

Blair, a former police chief who was most recently the minister of emergency preparedness, becomes the country’s point person at NATO and will be responsible for Canada’s response to the war in Ukraine.

New Brunswick’s Dominic LeBlanc will now lead public safety, an often-challenging portfolio that includes the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the RCMP. He also takes on the democratic institutions file and will continue to serve as intergovernmental affairs minister.

LeBlanc, who represents Beauséjour, will play a key role in determining how the government responds to allegations that China interfered in the past two federal elections, and to the damning report on the Mounties’ handling of the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia. He’ll also have to stickhandle negotiations with the provinces about the future of RCMP contract policing.

His predecessor, Marco Mendicino, was dropped from cabinet. His demotion ends a tenure at the cabinet table plagued by multiple controversies, including the government’s poorly received gun control legislation and lingering questions on the foreign interference file.

More recently, Mendicino has been under intense pressure due to the controversy over the transfer of serial killer Paul Bernardo to a medium-security prison.

7 fresh faces called up

Seven new MPs received a promotion to cabinet:

• Toronto MP Arif Virani, who represents Parkdale—High Park, becomes minister of justice and attorney general of Canada

• Quebec MP Soraya Martinez Ferrada, who represents the riding of Hochelaga, becomes the minister of tourism and minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for Quebec Regions.
• Gary Anandasangaree, who represents Scarborough—Rouge Park, becomes minister of Crown-Indigenous relations
• B.C. MP Terry Beech of Burnaby North—Seymour becomes minister of citizens’ services
• Toronto-area MP Ya’ara Saks, who represents York Centre, becomes minister of mental health and addictions and associate minister of health
• Ottawa-area MP Jenna Sudds, who represents, Kanata—Carleton, becomes minister of families, children and social development
• Mississauga—Streetsville MP Rechie Valdez becomes minister of small business

Multiple ministers changing responsibilities

Wednesday’s shuffle also saw multiple current ministers change positions or add to their portfolios:

• Pablo Rodriguez becomes transport minister
• Pascale St-Onge becomes minister of Canadian heritage
• Mark Holland becomes minister of health
• Sean Fraser becomes minister of housing, infrastructure and communities

• Lawrence MacAulay becomes minister of agriculture
• Jean-Yves Duclos becomes minister of public services and procurement
• Marie-Claude Bibeau becomes minister of national revenue
• Gudie Hutchings becomes minister of rural economic development and minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
• Diane Lebouthillier becomes minister of fisheries, oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard
• Harjit Sajjan becomes president of the King’s Privy Council, minister of emergency preparedness and  minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada
• Carla Qualtrough becomes minister of sport and physical activity
• Karina Gould becomes government House leader

• Ahmed Hussen becomes minister of international development
• Seamus O’Regan becomes minister of labour and seniors
• Ginette Petitpas Taylor becomes minister of veterans affairs
• Mary Ng becomes minister of export promotion, international trade and economic development
• Jonathan Wilkinson becomes minister of energy and natural resources
• Marc Miller becomes minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship
• Randy Boissonnault becomes minister of employment workforce development and official languages
•  Kamal Khera becomes minister of diversity, inclusion and persons with disabilities.

Freeland, Joly staying put

Just eight ministers kept their portfolios:

• Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland
• Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly
• Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault
• Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne

• Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu, also minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario
• Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario Filomena Tassi
• Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal, also minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada and the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency
• Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth Marci Ien

Gould recently announced she is expecting her second child in the new year. Trudeau announced Wednesday that Government Whip Steve MacKinnon will serve as House leader in her absence and Ruby Sahota will fill in as whip.

Apart from Mendicino, six other ministers were dropped from cabinet:

• Former justice minister David Lametti
• Former public services and procurement minister Helena Jaczek
• Former transport minister Omar Alghabra
• Former mental health and addictions minister Carolyn Bennett
• Former fisheries minister Joyce Murray
• Former president of the Treasury Board Mona Fortier.

Ultimately, 30 of 38 ministries were affected by Wednesday’s shuffle. The cabinet is now made up of 19 women and 20 men, inducing the prime minister himself.