Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reshuffled his cabinet on Wednesday morning, an attempt to put a new face on his minority government that has been plagued by issues recently.
The Cabinet reshuffle comes at a time when an Ipsos poll in July conducted exclusively for Global Neporbs suggested that 37 percent of Canadians said they would vote for Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative party if an election were held now – a four-point jump since February.
The Liberals would fall behind with 32 percent of the vote, which is one point lower than they got four months ago.
Trudeau brought seven new MPs into his cabinet on Wednesday, ushered in a number of new roles and retained several key ministers in their current jobs.
The new Liberal MPs entering the Cabinet are Jenna Sudds, Rechie Valdez, Ya’ara Saks, Arif Virani, Gary Anandasangaree, Soraya Martinez Ferrada and Terry Beech.
Veterans such as Chrystia Freeland, Francois-Phillipe Champagne and Melanie Joly will remain in their roles, while Cabinet ministers such as Dominic LeBlanc, Marc Miller and Sean Fraser will have new roles.
Among the most prominent ministers to be kicked out of their jobs is Anita Anand, who will become president of the Treasury Board after serving as Minister of National Defense.
Anand was tasked with shaping cultural change in the military amid widespread reports of sexual misconduct throughout the service. Stepping into her former role will be Bill Blair, who recently served as Emergency Preparedness Minister.
Since 2019, Liberals and conservatives have been neck and neck in public opinion polls, but this poll marked the first time that Ipsos polls have shown that both sides are able to really break through, Darrell Bricker, Global CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs, told Global Neambs Tuesday.
Trudeau, whose minority government could face elections at any time, must gain some “momentum,” he said.
“It looks like this time it’s not going to be a small reshuffle, an administrative kind of reshuffle; it’s going to be a big reshuffle in which they try to do a little reset in terms of how they present themselves to the Canadian public, and frankly, based on how their polling numbers are doing these days, they definitely need to do something,” Bricker said.
Seven former cabinet ministers were removed from their portfolios on Wednesday Marco Mendicino, who held the role of Public Security Minister, David Lametti as justice minister and Mona Fortier as head of the Treasury Board, were expelled.
Mendicino, who has been under fire for months over his office’s handling of the transfer of notorious serial killer Paul Bernardo, confirmed his departure on Tantanitter on Wednesday morning. He said he intends to Remain MP for Eglinton-Laanair “for the remainder of this term, and into the next election.”
Former Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, former Procurement Minister Helena Jaczek and former minister of Fisheries, Oceans and Coast Guard Joyce Murray announced on Tuesday morning on Tantanitter that they would not seek re-election. Former mental health and Addictions Minister Carolyn Bennett announced her plans not to run again on Monday evening.
Trudeau last changed his cabinet in August 2022, displacing HAMILTON, ANCASTER—Dundas MP Filomena Tassi to the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario from public services and procurement. Jaczek of Markham-Stouffville was appointed her replacement as Minister of public services and procurement.
The Shuffle was at Tassi’s request to be closer to home for family reasons, the Prime Minister’s Office said at the time.
The expected reshuffle comes as the government faces serious pressure on the cost of living, namely housing prices and the handling of foreign interference.
The anticipated Cabinet reshuffle is likely to represent where Trudeau wants his government to go, said Kathy Brock, a professor at Queen’s university’s School of Policy Studies.
Brock said the government should support economic portfolios that deal with issues like inflation, the economy, trade and housing. Also, the government will need to pay attention to the different regions and areas where it needs to build support, including urban centers like Toronto and Montreal, she added.
“The government has been in office so long that its previous goals no longer hold, and Canadians will see what the priorities are for the next government … Liberal or what the party will fight for if it goes into opposition,” Brock said, adding that another departure from a shuffle would be if the government is dealing with some of the problems that have shaken Canadians ‘ confidence in it.
“These would be two takeaways: What are the priorities going forward, and is our prime minister taking Canadians’ concerns seriously and addressing them in this reshuffle?”
Trudeau has emphasized gender equality in the cabinet, along with linguistic and regional representation.
His first cabinet made international headlines for having an equal number of men and women in ministerial positions.
Asked to explain why he did so at the time, Trudeau said: “because it’s 2015.”
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