(Ottawa) Justin Trudeau did not get the majority of seats he coveted in the House of Commons in Monday’s poll. But the cards voters have given him will make the very first task he will have to tackle easier: training his cabinet.
Only three ministers bit the dust at the end of this hotly contested campaign. All influential ministers, without exception, were re-elected. Better yet, the Liberal Party managed to get a Calgary-Skyview MP, George Chahal, elected, and a Liberal candidate, Randy Boissonnault, clung to a slim lead in Edmonton Center. So Alberta, which did not elect any Liberal MPs in 2019, will once again have a vote at the cabinet table.
Mr. Trudeau wants to wait for the final results in fifteen ridings that are still at stake before addressing the puzzle of forming a cabinet. A cabinet reshuffle is expected to be announced within a month at the latest. ” He’s worn out. Everyone around him is exhausted. We must let the dust settle after this election campaign, ”said a liberal source who requested anonymity because she was not authorized to speak publicly about this issue.
The three ministers who suffered defeat on Monday are all women. This is the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Bernadette Jordan, in the riding of South Shore – St. Margarets, Nova Scotia, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development, Maryam Monsef, in the riding of Peterborough – Kawartha, Ont., And Minister of Seniors Deb Schulte, in the riding of King-Vaughan, also in Ontario.
Since coming to power in 2015, Justin Trudeau has established the practice of appointing a joint cabinet. Still describing himself as a feminist, Mr. Trudeau will therefore have to appoint three other women to his cabinet to maintain this new tradition, if he chooses to keep the same number of ministers who support him in the management of the affairs of state.
He will also have to appoint an elected official from Nova Scotia to give that province a voice in the cabinet. New Halifax West MP Lena Diab, who served as a minister in the province’s former Liberal government, could be an interesting choice.
Moreover, nothing indicates that Mr. Trudeau is tempted to undertake a vast game of musical chair in the formation of his next cabinet. Thus, it is unlikely that influential ministers such as Chrystia Freeland at Finance, Jean-Yves Duclos at Treasury Board, Jonathan Wilkinson at Environment, Dominic LeBlanc at Intergovernmental Affairs, Marc Garneau at Foreign Affairs, Steven Guilbeault at Heritage, Bill Blair in Public Safety and Marco Mendicino in Immigration, among others, are given new roles.
Especially since these ministers already have strong files on their respective desks. In Finance, Chrystia Freeland, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, must ensure the implementation of important stimulus measures contained in the budget tabled in April. The fourth wave of COVID-19 sweeping the country could also force the federal government to further extend support measures for workers and businesses this fall.
PHOTO CARLOS OSORIO, ARCHIVES REUTERS
Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister
At the helm of Public Safety, former Toronto police chief Bill Blair must follow through on the Liberal promise to tighten gun control, especially the handguns that are used in gang shootings. street in Montreal and other major cities across the country.
Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino, for his part, must step up Canada’s efforts to repatriate Afghan refugees. During the election campaign, Justin Trudeau pledged to bring 40,000 of these refugees back to Canada. Barely 4000 of them have set foot on Canadian soil so far.
In Intergovernmental Affairs, Minister Dominic LeBlanc is expected to support the Prime Minister in the already tough talks with the provinces about the increase in health transfers.
The contingent of ministers from Quebec, which has been able to perform well over the past two years by stepping up efforts to reach agreements with the Legault government, should be the same. Mr. Trudeau’s political lieutenant in Quebec, Pablo Rodriguez, should keep his position as government House leader, especially since he has been able to establish good working relations with most of his colleagues from other political parties.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Mélanie Joly and Pablo Rodriguez, during the liberal evening
That said, the Minister of Economic Development, Tourism and Official Languages, Mélanie Joly, who was co-chair of the Liberals’ victorious campaign, could get a promotion. Mme Joly played a crucial role in the recruitment, financing and organization of the party throughout Quebec. Within the Liberal ranks, it is estimated that she succeeded in countering the Bloc wave looming on the horizon following the debate in English by mobilizing Liberal troops in a dozen ridings.
Justin Trudeau will also have an important decision to make about the role he wants to entrust to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, who could be in the running in a possible race for the direction with Chrystia Freeland. In just a few months, Mr. Champagne made his mark on this ministry, notably by persuading Moderna executives to open a manufacturing plant for its COVID-19 vaccine in Canada as well as a research and research center. Excellency.