In a major cabinet shuffle on Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promoted seven rookies to his front bench, dropped seven ministers, and reassigned the majority of cabinet roles.
In a ceremony at Rideau Hall, presided over by Gov. Gen. Mary Simon, Trudeau orchestrated one of, if not the most consequential reconfigurations to his cabinet since 2015, meant to reset the minority Liberal agenda after eight years in power.
“What a team,” Trudeau said, kicking off his post-shuffle press conference, backed by his new roster of ministers.
While the prime minister denied that such a sizeable shakeup was a signal that 2023 hasn’t been going as the Liberals had hoped, the occasion certainly was the federal political event of the summer so far that will have ripple effects in the months to come.
Trudeau acknowledged this shuffle comes at a time where “there are storm clouds all around the world,” that are having real impacts on Canadians, from the war in Ukraine, to the rise in authoritarianism and foreign interference, to the cost-of-living crunch.
“This is a positive step in a moment of consequential impact in the world, and in the country. We know times are challenging, but this is the team that is going to be able to continue the hard work rolling up their sleeves and delivering for Canadians… as we build a brighter and ambitious future for all Canadians,” Trudeau said.
“Making sure that we have the best possible team, aligned to respond to Canadians’ challenges with the supports necessary, but also show that optimism, that ambition for getting us through these consequential times… That’s what we’re focused on.”
BIG NAMES MOVED TO NEW FILES
As Liberals arrived to a spray of television cameras and political reporters, few said much about what awaited them inside, though a few indicated that it was a good morning and were looking forward to their new roles.
While most ministers were in high spirits, all eyes were on Anita Anand, who was handed one of the most high-profile reassignments on Wednesday. She was bumped from defence to become Treasury Board president.
Asked by reporters how she felt leaving defence with unfinished business, Anand said she was “extremely excited” to work as part of the enhanced economic policy team, while indicating Blair is committed to pick up where she left off.
President of the Treasury Board Anita Anand takes the oath of office as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau looks on during a cabinet swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, Wednesday, July 26, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Former police chief and emergency preparedness point-man Bill Blair replaces Anand as minister of defence, taking on the high-profile international cabinet post amid the ongoing war in Ukraine and continued defence spending pressures.
Taking on the re-prioritized housing file at a time of affordability concerns is Sean Fraser, who moves from immigration to become minister of housing, infrastructure and communities. Combining the infrastructure and housing files at a time where the need for cross-jurisdictional collaboration on building more houses
Also picking up key economic roles are Randy Boissonnault, who is now the minister of employment, workforce development, but also official languages minister; and Mary Ng who has a similar portfolio to what she held a day ago, now formally titled as minister of export promotion, international trade and economic development.
Trudeau’s close ally and longtime friend Dominic LeBlanc becomes public safety, democratic institutions, and intergovernmental affairs minister, seeing him maintain his relationships with the provinces and the ongoing foreign interference public inquiry negotiations, while adding in responsibility for key gun control legislation and RCMP reform.
In a move many predicted, Pablo Rodriguez becomes transport minister tasked with ensuring Canadian travellers are well-treated by Canadian air and rail services, while maintaining the Quebec lieutenant role, while Pascale St-Onge takes over the minister of Canadian heritage portfolio.
This will make the first out lesbian in cabinet Trudeau’s new lead on some hot online platform policies, including the ongoing debacle over implementing online news regulations following the passage of Bill C-18. Heritage is a file sources close to St-Onge have said she’s interested in and fits as a next step following her time overseeing the sport portfolio.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is applauded at a cabinet swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Wednesday, July 26, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Jean-Yves Duclos becomes minister of public services and procurement, a move he said he didn’t see as a demotion after helping navigate the last few post-COVID-19 years.
I am an economist by training… we want to focus very much on the cost of living, helping Canadians put food on the table, also helping grow the economy. And in my new role, I will have many tools to do that,” he said.
Taking over the health file is outgoing House leader Mark Holland. Karina Gould is the new leader of the government in the House of Commons, poised to lead the Liberals in the Chamber, a key role during question period.
Trudeau announced that when Gould takes parental leave this winter, given she’s expecting her second child, Chief Government Whip Steven MacKinnon will take over as House leader until she returns, and current deputy whip Ruby Sahota will fill in for MacKinnon.
Jonathan Wilkinson is now Canada’s minister of energy but maintains the natural resources portion of his title. Similarly, Seamus O’Regan maintains his minister of labour role, but has been given the additional responsibility of minister of seniors.
As for other Atlantic Canadians given new roles: Gudie Hutchings holds her role as minister of rural economic development, while adding in responsibility for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Lawrence MacAulay becomes agriculture and agri-food minister, and Ginette Petitpas Taylor takes over for MacAulay as veterans affairs minister and associate minister of national defence.
Harjit Sajjan becomes King’s Privy Council president and the minister of emergency preparedness, where his past military experience will be tapped into as Canada continues to evolve its natural disaster response plans and respond to a devastating wildfire season. He also becomes the minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada.
Fellow B.C. minister and Paralympian Carla Qualtrough becomes minister of sport and physical activity, picking back up a file she’s previously held.
Close Trudeau ally Marc Miller becomes minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship, after years spent building relationships with Indigenous communities. Ahmed Hussen has been dropped from housing and becomes minister of international development. Picking up the diversity, inclusion, and persons with disabilities files is Kamal Khera.
A few other ministers who have held their roles over successive previous shuffles are also on the move: Marie-Claude Bibeau becomes Canada’s minister of national revenue, aka the minister responsible for the Canada Revenue Agency.
And, former CRA minister Diane Lebouthillier is now the minister of fisheries, oceans and the Canadian coast guard. Should there be further findings regarding the ill-fated Titan submersible, expect this francophone minister to front those questions.
SEVEN ROOKIES IN, SEVEN MINISTERS OUT
As senior government sources confirmed ahead of Wednesday’s shuffle, seven ministers are out of cabinet: Omar Alghabra, Joyce Murray, Helena Jaczek, Carolyn Bennett, Marco Mendicino, David Lametti, and Mona Fortier.
These departures have paved the way for the prime minister to promote several backbench Liberal MPs from key battleground ridings in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia.
Mississauga-Streetsville MP Rechie Valdez arrives for a cabinet swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, Wednesday, July 26, 202. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
The seven rookie MPs who have clinched cabinet posts are
Scarborough-Rouge Park, Ont. MP Gary Anandasangaree, who becomes minister of Crown-Indigenous relations after serving as a parliamentary secretary and a Liberal MP since 2015;
Parkdale-High Park, Ont. MP Arif Virani, who was first elected in 2015, and now has a major new role: Canada’s minister of justice and attorney general, picking up several bills left by Lametti before the House;
Burnaby North-Seymour, B.C. MP Terry Beech, who has also been in the House since 2015, now gets a brand new title, becoming the minister of citizens’ services;
Hochelaga, Que. MP Soraya Martinez Ferrada, becomes minister of tourism and is responsible for the Quebec economic development agency. She was first elected in 2019;
York Centre, Ont. MP Ya’ara Saks, first elected in a 2020 byelection becomes minister of mental health and addictions, holding on to a role held by a nearby former minister Bennett;
Kanata-Carleton, Ont. MP Jenna Sudds, first elected in 2021 becomes minister of families, children and social development, picking up the Ottawa-area vacancy left by Fortier’s cabinet departure; and
Mississauga-Streetsville, Ont. MP Rechie Valdez, first elected in 2021 as Canada’s first Filipina MP, becomes minister of small business.
“It just really demonstrates that decoupling small business from the larger portfolio shows the importance, and I’ve been advocating it, for it since I began as an MP, Valdez said to reporters after becoming emotional during her oath-swearing. “It’s incredibly important that we focus on the small businesses, because they are the backbone of our economy and I truly believe that, being that I was a small business entrepreneur myself.”
Asked by reporters why he chose to remove those three, Trudeau was unspecific, beyond saying it was about “putting forward the strongest possible team, with fresh energy, and a range of skills.”
In a statement posted to social media Wednesday morning, Mendicino—who was at the centre of shuffle chatter over his handling of hot files—said it had been “an honour” to serve as a minister in the immigration and public safety portfolios for nearly four years, and said he plans to stick around as the Liberal MP for Eglinton-Lawrence, Ont.
“Those who know me well know that politics is in my blood… I have every intention of continuing to serve for the remainder of this mandate, and into the next election,” Mendicino said.
“To my cabinet and caucus colleagues, it remains a privilege to work with you. The seating arrangements may move around in the House of Commons from time to time, but we are family and committed to the same cause.”
In his lengthy public comment, Lametti called his time as justice minister the privilege of his life, congratulated two of his former parliamentary secretaries for their promotions, and reflected on his accomplishments from passing a conversion therapy ban, to tabling a new process for wrongful convictions.
JUST 8 MINISTERS MAINTAIN ROLES
A sign of just how seismic Trudeau’s cabinet reconfiguration is, only eight ministers were left untouched:
Francois-Philippe Champagne, left to right, Chrystia Freeland and Mary Ng arrive for a cabinet swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Wednesday, July 26, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland;
Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Francois-Philippe Champagne;
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly;
Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault;
Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu;
Women and Gender Equality and Youth Minister Marci Ien;
Minister of Northern Affairs Dan Vandal, who also oversees Prairie economic development; and
Minister Filomena Tassi who is responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.
Trudeau defended his decision to keep these ministers in their current roles, particularly Freeland, at a time where Canadians continue to feel the pinch of inflation and are uncertain about the country’s economic trajectory.
“We need to continue to put our very best foot forward and work even harder,” he said, adding that he’s “so proud” to continue this work alongside his deputy prime minister.
“We’re bolstering that economic team with the likes of Jean-Yves Duclos, Sean Fraser, Anita Anand and others that are going to continue to step up and make sure Canadians know that we’ve got their backs, but we’ve also got them into the kind of ambitious and optimistic future I know Canadians want, and that is a clear contrast from the ‘brokenness’ philosophy that the leader of the Conservative Party continues to put forward,” Trudeau said.
Trudeau’s entire top tier was invited to attend the ceremony at the governor general’s residence, regardless of if they were on the move or not. Also there to watch were some of Trudeau’s top PMO staffers, Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre, and a number of ministers’ aides. The shuffle is now likely to also trigger a considerable staffing shakeup.
WHY SHUFFLE NOW?
A senior government source told CTV News that Trudeau and his inner circle have looked at this shuffle as “fortifying” the prime minister’s economic team around issues such as housing affordability and the clean energy transition, to present a clear contrast to their main Conservative opponents when it comes to how they view and communicate on these issues.
It’s also been widely discussed that elevating high-performers into key posts today may help the Liberals, after eight years in power, present a refreshed face to make the case to the Canadian public that they’re re-electable.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives for a cabinet swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Wednesday, July 26, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Wednesday’s changes have not changed the size of the cabinet, with 38 members—19 men and 19 women— in the gender-balanced cabinet, not counting the prime minister. Maintaining gender parity is a standard Trudeau set when his first cabinet was sworn-in in 2015.
This shakeup is the first major change since the Liberals’ 2021 election win, and the prime minister is hoping with these changes to lock in the team he will lead into the next election, currently slated for 2025.
Asked Wednesday whether he could commit to not pulling the plug on the current minority Parliament and launching the country into an early election, Trudeau was not absolute, but said they still have “so much work to do over the coming years.”
With all parties continuing to prepare for the next election, the opposition is already signalling that these changes aren’t going to be enough to turn around slipping Liberal polling numbers.
From Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre stating Trudeau should be the one getting a new job, to NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet, and Green Party Deputy Leader Jonathan Pedneault all noting several problem files remain, the reset team has their work cut out for them.
“Despite the appearance of a new beginning, this government is poised to continue in the same direction at a time when the problems facing Canadians warrant foundational changes to our economy, our politics and our federation,” Pedneault said in a statement. “Just like Pierre Poilievre taking off his glasses, Justin Trudeau’s cabinet reshuffle has more to do with cosmetics than politics.”
Last on the itinerary for the new cabinet on their big day, was a 4 p.m. EDT meeting in West Block.
Holding cabinet meetings shortly after a shuffle is something Trudeau has done in the past, with analysts suggesting it’s an effort to signal that the team is rolling up their sleeves and getting to work right away.
Trudeau’s office confirmed Wednesday that “in the coming weeks” changes will be announced to the makeup of cabinet committees, and the membership of a new “National Security Council” that is being billed as “a new forum for ministers to deliberate on and address issues of pressing concern to Canada’s domestic and international security.”
Then, it’ll be on the new ministry to get down to work on the refocused promises Trudeau mandates them to prioritize, a prepare for the September return of Parliament.
OTTAWA – The federal government is expanding a measure that bans tens of thousands of Iranian officials from entering Canada as part of an effort to hold the regime accountable for human-rights violations.
On Sunday, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc announced that any senior official who served in the Iranian government at any time since June 23, 2003 is now inadmissible to Canada. The decision extends a previous ban, announced in November 2022, that denied entry to those in the top echelons of the Iranian regime dating back to 2019.
“We are sending a strong message that those involved in terrorism, human rights violations and atrocities are not welcome here,” LeBlanc said in a statement. “Canada will always stand up for human rights and fight for justice, at home and around the world.”
The new cutoff date for admissibility reflects the day on which Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi was arrested in Tehran. She died in hospital almost three weeks later, in July 2003, after being tortured and raped.
The move comes on the eve of the second anniversary of the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in hospital on Sept. 16, 2022 after being arrested by Iran’s morality police for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly. Her death sparked global protests.
The announcement was met with praise from Kourosh Doustshenas, spokesperson for the Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims. The Ukraine International Airlines flight was shot down over Tehran in January 2020 by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a branch of the Iranian armed forces. All 176 people aboard the flight were killed, including 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents.
“Justice for Zahra Kazemi and so many others is long overdue,” Doustshenas said in a statement on social media. “This amendment is a crucial message that Canada will not be a safe haven for human rights violators. It’s a step toward accountability and justice for victims of the Iranian regime’s atrocities, including those affected by Flight PS752.”
Ottawa first labelled the Iranian government as “a regime that has engaged in terrorism and systematic and gross human rights violations” under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act in November 2022, shortly after Amini’s death. The measure denied entry to senior officials who’d served in the government since Nov. 15, 2019. That date marked the start of nationwide protests that prompted a violent government crackdown. At the time, Reuters reported 1,500 people were killed during less than two weeks of unrest.
The designation means that current and former officials present in Canada can also lose their temporary or permanent resident status and can be removed from the country.
According to the Canada Border Services Agency, 82 visas had been cancelled as of Aug. 26, and 15 people have been reported inadmissible by the agency. Of those 15, two have been found inadmissible and were issued deportation orders following hearings at the Immigration and Refugee Board, and one person has been removed from Canada.
The tribunal ordered the deportation earlier this year of Seyed Salman Samani, Iran’s former deputy interior minister, and Majid Iranmanesh, a former director general in the regime.
The agency did not immediately respond to questions about how many more officials might now be targeted by the expanded measure.
Critics have accused Canada of providing safe haven for top-ranking Iranian officials, including after Morteza Talaei, who served as Tehran’s police chief when Kazemi was tortured in 2003, was photographed at a Toronto-area gym in 2021.
In a statement posted on social media Sunday, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs called the government’s latest move “a positive step.”
“Iran’s terror extends beyond its support for violence abroad,” the group said. “The regime’s violence includes the oppression of its own people, especially women.”
In June, the Canadian government listed the IRGC as a terrorist organization under the Criminal Code, following years of pressure from Iranian Canadians and opposition parties.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.
VANCOUVER – British Columbia will be opening secure facilities to provide involuntary care under the Mental Health Act for those with severe addictions who are mentally ill and have sustained a brain injury, the premier announced Sunday just days ahead of the start of a provincial election campaign.
David Eby pledged a re-elected NDP would change the law in the next legislative session to “provide clarity and ensure that people, including youth, can and should receive care when they are unable to seek it themselves.”
Eby told a news conference in Vancouver that involuntary help would be aimed at people struggling with overlapping addictions, mental illness, and brain injury concerns who are not able to ask for help for themselves.
“For people with these three overlapping conditions, we know that the current response that we offer is not adequate,” he said.
“It is costly for people struggling with these conditions. They are not safe, and increasingly, I’m concerned that the way that they are interacting in our communities is making everybody less safe.”
The premier’s promise comes ahead of Saturday’s anticipated launch of the provincial election campaign, in which concerns about the toxic drug crisis are expected to play a significant role, and three months after he appointed Dr. Daniel Vigo as B.C.’s first chief scientific adviser for psychiatry, toxic drugs and concurrent disorders.
Vigo said Sunday that most people with addictions in British Columbia are not mentally impaired and are able to seek help voluntarily.
“However, the system breaks down if services operate under the assumption that all the patients should be able to actively seek help, endure taxing intake processes where comorbidity is not considered, input from providers … is not valued, and impairments affecting their ability to consent become an exclusion criteria,” he said.
Vigo said that in order for a person to be treated involuntarily under the act, they currently have to have a mental disorder that leaves them unable to interact safely with others and regulate their own behaviour.
Eby said the province’s hospitals interpret the current Mental Health Act inconsistently, so Vigo will be sending out clarifications on how it can be applied in cases involving addiction before the legislation is formally changed.
Eby said the first site providing care for those with addictions, mental illness and brain injuries will open in Maple Ridge on the grounds of the Alouette Correctional Centre “in the coming months,” adding there are plans to expand throughout the province.
This is not the first time the B.C. government has proposed involuntary care for youth with addictions.
In 2022, a plan that would have forced youth to undergo treatment for up to seven days after an overdose was scrapped following public criticism.
Eby said Sunday he understands the concern that youth might be less likely to ask for help if they fear being taken to treatment against their will.
“So these are the things we’re trying to balance as a society. It’s incredibly challenging, and our goal is to work with … the experts in this area, because I think that we need to keep revisiting these decisions and make sure that they’re taking us in the right direction,” he said.
Last week, B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad said if elected, he would introduce legislation to allow for involuntary treatment and build secure facilities.
In a statement Sunday, Rustad said Eby was being inconsistent and “flip-flopping” after years of not acting on the issue.
B.C. Greens Leader Sonia Furstenau accused Eby in a separate statement of following “John Rustad off every reactionary cliff” and said she was concerned about an over-reliance on involuntary care.
Furstenau said the province already has thousands of people receiving some form of involuntary treatment annually.
“Where are the investments in prevention and addressing the root causes of what we’re seeing in our communities? There’s also no focus on long-term, community-based care after discharge,” she said.
A government statement said the NDP is building more than 400 mental-health beds at new and expanded hospitals in B.C. by modernizing approximately 280 outdated beds and adding more than 140 new ones “with more to come.”
It says all of these facilities will also provide both voluntary and involuntary care under the act.
The announcement comes after a series of stranger attacks in the province alleged to have been committed by those who are mentally ill.
A man was arrested earlier this month in Vancouver for separate attacks that left one man dead and another with a severed hand. Police later said the suspect had a history of mental illness.
Eby said the province will also be setting up a designated mental-health unit in a B.C. correctional centre, starting with a 10-bed facility at the Surrey Pretrial Services Centre to provide rapid treatment for people with mental-health and addiction challenges who are being held in custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. It clarifies that the facilities are aimed at people with concurrent mental health and addiction concerns. An earlier version said the facilities would be for those with severe addictions or who are mentally ill.
HAIDA GWAII, BRITISH COLUMBIA – The northern British Columbia coast was rattled by two earthquakes below the ocean floor on Sunday.
Natural Resources Canada said the first quake hit at 3:20 p.m. and measured 6, while the second came about an hour later and measured 4.5.
It says no damage was reported and none would be expected.
The U.S. Geological Survey set the magnitude of the quake at 6.5, and says it was centred at about the midway point between Haida Gwaii and Port McNeill on the northern end of Vancouver Island.
The American Tsunami warning centre said no tsunami was expected to be generated.
Ben Wilson, the food and beverage manager at the Willows Golf Course in Sandspit, B.C., says he was home on his break when he felt the ground shake, long enough to know what it was, but not long enough to concern him.
“This one was definitely more noticeable than some, but not by any means, the biggest one I’ve ever felt here.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.
President of the Treasury Board Anita Anand takes the oath of office as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau looks on during a cabinet swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, Wednesday, July 26, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is applauded at a cabinet swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Wednesday, July 26, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Mississauga-Streetsville MP Rechie Valdez arrives for a cabinet swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, Wednesday, July 26, 202. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Francois-Philippe Champagne, left to right, Chrystia Freeland and Mary Ng arrive for a cabinet swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Wednesday, July 26, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives for a cabinet swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Wednesday, July 26, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
