Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has shuffled his cabinet after a chaotic week for the Liberals that saw two ministers step down and lingering questions about his own future.
Eight new ministers were sworn in and four other existing cabinet members were reassigned at a ceremony presided over by Gov. Gen. Mary Simon at Ottawa’s Rideau Hall on Friday.
Ottawa-area MP David McGuinty — the brother of former Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty — is the new public safety minister, replacing Dominic LeBlanc, who was sworn in earlier this week as the finance minister.
McGuinty is chair of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians.
Élisabeth Brière became the new national revenue minister, replacing Marie-Claude Bibeau.
Terry Duguid replaces Carla Qualtrough as the sport minister.
Toronto-area MP Nate Erskine-Smith, who has previously said he does not plan to run again, is the new housing minister.
He takes the place of Sean Fraser, the previous housing minister, who announced on Monday he was stepping down from the cabinet for family reasons.
On Friday, Erskine-Smith said that “it wasn’t an easy decision by any means,” but after consulting with his family and colleagues, he plans to run in the next election.
Darren Fisher is the new minister of veterans affairs and the associate minister of national defence.
Ruby Sahota will take on the dual role of minister for democratic institutions and the minister responsible for the federal economic development agency for southern Ontario.
The new seniors minister is Joanne Thompson.
Rachel Bendayan was sworn in as the official languages minister and associate minister of public safety.
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Anita Anand, who will continue her role as transport minister, will now also take on internal trade.
Gary Anandasangaree, who is minister of Crown-Indigenous relations, will take on additional roles of the northern affairs minister and the minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency.
Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon will now also take over the portfolio of employment and workforce development.
Ginette Petitpas Taylor, previously the veterans affairs minister, has now been appointed president of the Treasury Board, a role that Anand had held.
Friday’s cabinet shuffle comes after Chrystia Freeland, in a surprise announcement on Monday, resigned as the finance minister on the same day she was supposed to present the fall economic statement.
In her letter addressed to Trudeau, Freeland noted that in recent weeks, she has found herself increasingly “at odds” with the prime minister.
The newly sworn-in ministers will have their work cut out for them ahead of the incoming Trump administration. U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has threatened to impose a sweeping 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian goods unless Canada increases border security.
The ministers put up a united front Friday, reiterating the need for a “Team Canada approach.”
“I’ve been thinking a lot this week, about the events of the week and have chatted with the prime minister a number of times and I believe this is a moment where we need to stand united,” Anand told reporters.
“If we don’t all band in the same direction, the results are not going to be as strong as they otherwise would.”
Anandasangaree said “there’s a lot of work to do” to make sure Canada is prepared before Trump takes office.
Petitpas Taylor added that “we have to ensure that we put our best foot forward” in wanting to work collaboratively with the new U.S. administration.
As the new public safety minister, McGuinty said it was his responsibility to work with the RCMP, the Canada Border Services Agency, Correctional Services Canada and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service as well as the U.S. counterparts to address Trump’s border concerns.
“I am convinced that working together with my colleagues here and beyond, we’re going to do this for Canadians. This is just too important not to get right together.”
The House has risen for the holidays, but a cabinet meeting will also take place Friday afternoon.
Questions have been swirling about Trudeau’s future, with slumping popularity in polls and growing calls from his own party members and the opposition to step down.
Bendayan told reporters on Friday that Trudeau is mulling his options.
“Politics is about choices. Very often those are difficult choices. I think the prime minister was quite clear that he has a choice that he’s reflecting on,” she said.
Sahota said Trudeau has “all of our full support.”
“He obviously has shown lots of confidence in us and that’s why we’re here today,” she said.
According to an Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Motorcycle accident toronto today and released this week, Trudeau’s personal popularity has gone down five percentage points, with only 23 per cent overall saying they think he deserves re-election, and 77 per cent saying they think it’s time for a new party to take over.
Meanwhile, Liberal support has also dropped five points, down to 21 per cent, since September and is now tied with the New Democratic Party.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said on Friday that his party will put forward a “clear motion of non-confidence” in the next sitting of the House of Commons that could bring down the Liberal government.
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