While some key members of former-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinets remain in important files, several cabinet members are new to cabinet, to Parliament, or to politics entirely.
New and more streamlined portfolios signal an almost single-minded focus on the economy, including the ongoing trade war with the United States.
Well-known journalist Evan Solomon is now Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation – a new portfolio of yet unknown responsibilities and breadth.
Two ministers have responsibilities for promoting internal trade and breaking down inter-provincial trade barriers (Minister of Transport and Internal Trade Chrystia Freeland and Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs and One Canadian Economy Dominic Leblanc).
Mélanie Joly is now serving as Minister of Industry – a simplification of that file’s Trudeau-era title of “Innovation, Science and Industry.”
While his first cabinet had the notable lack of a minister of Women and Gender Equality, after pushback from our friends at Action Canada and others in the women and gender rights’ movement, Prime Minister Carney restored an independent minister and appointed Rechie Valdez. He did not keep his promise of a gender-balanced cabinet, however.
This single-mindedness on the economy, the retreat from the promise of gender balance, and the smaller, more streamlined cabinet signal a break from the last decade of government under Trudeau. This is likely a deliberate move by Carney to distance himself from the criticisms that plagued Trudeau’s last few years and the fact that Canadians widely rejected the prospect of another government under his leadership in polls. Only time will tell whether this iteration of a Liberal Party government will shed other Trudeau-era habits.
The creation of secretaries of state is unusual in Canadian politics. They are junior ministers who will only attend cabinet meetings and cabinet committees when invited, will report to a more senior minister, and may lack autonomy from the latter.
We will have to wait for orders-in-council appointing ministers and see if public mandate letters are released to determine exactly what the relationship between any one secretary of state and their senior minister will be.
However, the appointment of both senior and junior ministers provides an indication of what Prime Minister Carney views as priorities – and what he doesn’t.
what this means for international assistance
For those of us concerned with building a healthier and more prosperous future without extreme poverty, the appointment of a Secretary of State (International Development) is a mixed blessing.
Since 1996, there has been a Minister of International Development in cabinet. In Prime Minister Carney’s brief first cabinet before the election, international development was an adjunct responsibility of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. And now there is no longer an independent voice on this issue who is consistently at the cabinet table.
But there is a Secretary of State (International Development), and Prime Minister Carney has appointed Randeep Sarai to the role. Sarai has represented Surrey Centre since this riding’s creation in 2015. Having served on the Foreign Affairs committee as a Member of Parliament and raised money for polio eradication before first winning his seat, we are confident he will continue his demonstrated commitment to building a better world.
We will keep Prime Minister Carney accountable to his word that his “government will not cut” international assistance. And we look forward to working with Secretary of State Sarai to expand Canadian global leadership and build a healthier, more prosperous world.
And this Canadian leadership is urgently needed.
a new world
In the past few months, our world has changed dramatically. No longer a reliable trading partner and ally, the United States has turned inward, abandoning friends, allies, and its global leadership. Its actions – especially the dismantling of USAID – will result in millions of preventable deaths and will irrevocably alter the lives of millions more.
To continue Canada’s proud legacy of supporting our world’s marginalized, and to help build new trading partners and allies, Canada must step up to fill the leadership void left by a retreating United States. As Prime Minister Carney boldly stated: “If the United States no longer wants to lead, Canada will.”
Let’s hold him to his word.
we need leadership from our new decision-makers
In the coming months, Canada has the opportunity to demonstrate our leadership, save lives, and build a stable, prosperous world for all by
championing education, especially in conflict settings, as Canada takes on the Presidency of the G7 in June,
investing in scaling up equitable access to essential and cost-effective nutrition interventions for women and children globally,
supporting tuberculosis research and development to end the world’s deadliest infectious disease threat.
We need to make sure that combatting our world's deadliest epidemics, ending the malnutrition and hunger crisis, and ensuring that children and youth around the world can access quality education are priorities for this government.
