Federal Cabinet Shuffle

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made significant changes to his Cabinet in Ottawa today in an attempt to provide a reset for several ongoing contentious files for the federal government and amid recent polls showing the Liberals trailing the Conservatives by as many as 10 percentage points nationally. The size of Cabinet remains the same, and the Prime Minister has maintained the gender balance with 19 women and 19 men.

The Prime Minister appointed 7 new Members of Parliament (MPs) to Cabinet while removing the same number, some of whom had announced they would not be running in the next election. Other now former ministers had been seen to underperform in managing some challenging issues in their respective portfolios

The shuffle is being billed by the Liberals as an increased focus on strong managers and communicators for the economy, jobs and affordability designed to balance Conservatives’ criticisms while also attempting to satisfy their NDP partners in the Supply and Confidence Agreement. To that end, Sean Fraser has been appointed Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, elevating the Housing portfolio to a senior Minister who is viewed as one of the government’s strongest communicators. In a similar vein, “Energy” has been added to Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson’s title and portfolio.

Key Ministers remaining in their current portfolios include: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland; Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne; Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault; Dan Vandal as Minister of Northern Affairs, Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada and Minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency; and, Patty Hajdu as Minister of Indigenous Services and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario.

Other changes of note:

• Randy Boissonnault becomes Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages.
• Lawrence MacAulay returns to Agriculture and Agri-Food
• Mark Holland is the new Minister of Health
• Pablo Rodriguez becomes Minister of Transport and continues as Quebec Lieutenant
• Anita Anand moves from Defence to President of the Treasury Board
• Dominic Leblanc becomes Minister of Public Safety, and Democratic Institutions and retains his responsibility for Intergovernmental Affairs

Mary Ng becomes Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development

New Members of Cabinet:

• Gary Anandasangaree becomes Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations
• Ya’ara Saks is the new Mental Health and Addictions Minister
• Soraya Martinez-Ferrada becomes Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec
• Jenna Sudds becomes Minister of Families, Children and Social Development
• Arif Virani is the new Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
• Terry Beech becomes Minister of Citizens’ Services

Rechie Valdez is the new Minister of Small Business

We will be watching in the weeks and months ahead how effectively this shuffle changes the perceived focus of the government as they move into the second half of their mandate. Currently, the next federal election is scheduled to take place in the fall of 2025, assuming the continued support for the Supply and Confidence Agreement announced in March 2022 between the Liberals and NDP.

You can find the full list of changes to Cabinet at:

Prime Minister announces changes to the Ministry

You can find the biographies of the Cabinet members here.

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