“There were two people I was looking for; Marc Garneau and Chrystia Freeland. That’s because those are two people that are potential leaders,” says Matt Farrell, a professor in the Political Science department at Fanshawe College. “Those were two things that I was really curious about and I was surprised to see Marc Garneau left out altogether.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is kicking off his third mandate with a monumental shift in his cabinet lineup. On Tuesday, the new federal cabinet was announced ahead of Parliament’s Nov. 22 return. The new cabinet list adds up to 39 ministers, larger than the last roster.
2021 Canadian Federal Cabinet (Governor General of Canada/Twitter)
“That’s one of the first things that people look at is the size of the cabinet,” says Farrell. “Here, we’ve got a larger cabinet, which to me reflects a couple of things; a desire to include a lot of different faces, and I think a need on behalf of the Prime Minister to reward some of his allies. Rewarding some of the ridings in the regions that helped him get reelected, also representing demographic diversity.”
Strong, skilled, and diverse – this team is ready to continue delivering. Learn more about the Ministers who will put home ownership back in reach, deliver on $10-a-day child care, grow the middle class, advance reconciliation, and tackle climate change: https://t.co/CI3WCYLdEF pic.twitter.com/WpYtj2nL7k
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) October 26, 2021
In one of the largest turnarounds, Oakville MP Anita Anand took on the role as the new Defence Minister, the second woman in history to take on that position after former prime minister Kim Campbell in the 1990s.
Anand inherits a tough job as the Canadian Armed forces continue to battle sexual misconduct allegations. While this choice is provoking mixed reactions, as traditionally this role is given to someone with a background in the military, Farrell says individuals are chosen to be a part of the cabinet for a number of reasons.
“She’s someone with a background in law and administration, so that’s maybe the type of fit that is needed to handle this very big, very large bureaucratic entity that is the Ministry of National Defense… This is a person that just had a pretty good run in terms of National Vaccine procurement. That was one of the things under her purview so this is probably a pretty sensible pick, in that sense trying to bring order to a pretty unruly agency.”
It is my sincere honour to be sworn in today as Minister of National Defence. Thank you @JustinTrudeau for entrusting me with this portfolio. pic.twitter.com/4QpXA5hcL6
— Anita Anand (@AnitaOakville) October 26, 2021
In terms of the former Defence Minister, Harjit Sajjan, his position has been moved to minister of International Development and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development in Canada. Trudeau defended keeping Sajjan in cabinet, saying he is someone who shows great leadership. But as Farrell says, while in terms of portfolio, this new role is a good fit with his expertise, in terms of position, this can be seen as a demotion.
“That’s probably justified, again, given the shape that national defense has seen you can’t really give that Minister a pat on the back and reward them with a promotion, so to speak. So it would make sense that he stays in cabinet, but it’s fitting that he gets reassigned or demoted, however you want to look at it.”
“I think one of the biggest surprises is Chrystia Freeland staying on as the number two to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance,” says Farrell. “On most days, I suspect she’s the smartest person in the room on Parliament Hill. So she’s extremely capable and that’s the kind of person that you want to keep close as an ally, especially if there’s potential for them to have leadership aspirations in the future. And repeating again, seeing Marc Grenau no longer in cabinet was a real shock.”
Melanie Joly, who took over for Grenau, received a large promotion moving up from Minister of Development and Official Languages to a much higher profile as Foreign Affairs Minister. While Farrell has no doubt that she will do well representing Canada on the “world stage,” he is more concerned that this is the fifth different minister of Foreign Affairs in the last six years.
“That’s not a good sign for the Prime Minister,” says Farrell. “If it’s a new person each time the different multilateral forums are at different bilateral negotiations, that’s not great for consistency.”
As an overall cabinet, Conservitive leader Erin O’Tool was quick to criticise the lineup, saying it’s filled with “largely inexperienced and ideologically driven individuals.”
In a media statement, O’Tool said “with inflation at a near 20-year high, causing gasoline, grocery and housing prices to skyrocket, and businesses suffering from major supply chain interruptions, it is clear from today’s [Monday’s] appointments that the Trudeau government is not serious about addressing Canada’s economic challenges.”
Statement
— Erin O'Toole (@erinotoole) October 26, 2021
“Nothing surprises me about the content of that kind of statement,” responded Farrell. “I suspect that when he was making reference to that kind of inexperience, really what it is is a function of the Prime Minister knowing they’ve got some pieces of legislation that need to go through.”
“I think if there’s youth in inexperience, that’s probably what it’s a function of is him [Prime Minister] wanting a team that he can trust that will sort of be subservient, rather than necessarily feeling like they have carte blanche to go freelance and run their own department as they see fit.”
But after looking over the new federal cabinet, does Farrell think it will be successful in addressing the concerns of Canadians?
“That’s a six months from now kind of question. And I don’t really have an inkling one way or the other. But right out of the gate, there’s going to have to be at least three big pieces of legislation [housing, climate change, and pandemic recovery] that need to move and need to get passed.”
The 2021 Liberal Cabinet:
- Justin Trudeau – Prime Minister
- Anita Anand – National Defence
- Omar Alghabra – Transport
- Carolyn Bennett – Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health
- Marie-Claude Bibeau – Agriculture and Agri-Food
- Bill Blair – President of Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness
- Randy Boissonnault – Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance
- Francois-Philippe Champagne – Innovation, Science and Commerce
- Jean-Yves Duclos – Health
- Mona Fortier – President of Treasury Board
- Sean Fraser – Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
- Chrystina Freeland – Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister
- Karina Gould – Families, Children and Social Development
- Steven Guilbeault – Environment and Climate Change
- Patty Hajdu – Indigenious Services and Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario
- Mark Holland – Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
- Ahmed Hussen – Housing and Diversity and Inclusion
- Gudie Hutchings – Rural Economic Development
- Marci Ien – Minister for Women, Gender Equality and Youth
- Helena Jaczek – Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
- Melanie Joly – Foregin Affairs
- Kamal Khera – Seniors
- David Lametti – Justice and Attorney General of Canada
- Dominic LeBlanc – Intergovernmental Affairs and President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada
- Diane Lebouthillier – National Revenue
- Lawrence MacAulay – Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence
- Marco Mendicino – Public Safety
- Marc Miller – Crown-Indifenous Services
- Joyce Murray – Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard
- Mary Ng – International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development
- Seamus O’Regan – Labour
- Ginette Petitpas Taylor – Official Languages and Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
- Carla Qualtrough – Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion
- Pablo Rodriguez – Canadian Heritage and Quebec Lieutenant
- Harjit Sajjan – International Development and Pacific Economics Development Agency of Canada
- Pascale St-Onge – Sport and Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec
- Filomena Tassi – Public Services and Procurement
- Don Vandal – Northern Affairs and Prairies Economic Development Canada and Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency
- Jonathan Wilkinson – Natural Resources
