It’s mid-summer in the Nation’s Capital, when tourists flock in, and politicians escape to their home ridings. Not much political news goes on because Parliament is shut down till mid-September. But on a hot July Wednesday, the governing Federal liberal party decided to do a major reshuffle of cabinet ministers.
The Liberals are losing popularity at the polls, and former supporters are disillusioned by the rising cost of living. Inflation, food, and housing costs have us all worried. The Liberals have heard the message, and the Trudeau team has removed 7 former Cabinet Ministers who were seen to hurt the Trudeau brand. They were replaced by 7 new faces. It’s one of the biggest Cabinet turnovers in recent memory.
The Liberals are approximately halfway through the mandate that voters gave them in the 2021 election. The next election must occur by October 2025 or sooner. Presently the polls indicate Trudeau’s Liberal Party is trailing the rival Conservatives.
With that in mind, Trudeau and his team chose to have a new look, one that is invested in running the country. That meant some ministers who had dragged down the Liberal banner had been sent packing.
Some big-name Cabinet Ministers are gone, they include:
Omar Alghabra: The transportation minister announced he would not run for re-election and resigned his seat in Cabinet Tuesday.
Carolyn Bennett: The longtime Liberal was first elected to the House of Commons in 1997. In response to the 2003 SARS outbreak, Bennett oversaw the establishment of the Public Health Agency of Canada. On Monday, she announced she would not run for re-election.
Mona Fortier: The Ottawa-area MP was the first and only minister for middle-class prosperity; she was then appointed president of the Treasury Board in 2021 and helped negotiate a new contract with public servants in May during one of the largest strikes in Canadian history.
Helena Jaczek: Was promoted to the procurement minister’s post less than a year ago but is not running in the next election. She served in the Ontario legislature as health and social services minister before successfully running against former Liberal cabinet minister Jane Philpott in 2019 for a federal seat.
David Lametti: Took over as justice minister and attorney general from Jody Wilson-Raybould in 2019 during a time of chaos. Soon after he took over the job, allegations surfaced that Trudeau pressured Wilson-Raybould in what would come to be known as the SNC-Lavalin affair. Lametti was a law professor at McGill University for 20 years before entering politics.
Marco Mendicino: The former federal prosecutor served as immigration minister before taking over public safety in 2021. He had difficulties with files on his desk, including the Afghan refugee crisis, gun control, the response to “Freedom Convoy” protests, and foreign interference. This summer, he came under fire for his office’s handling of the transfer of convicted killer Paul Bernardo to medium-security prison and cries from the Opposition to resign.
Joyce Murray: Murray served in the British Columbia cabinet before running federally. She served as a digital government minister and president of the Treasury Board before taking over the fisheries. She announced plans to retire from politics after the next election.
The departure of these Cabinet Ministers meant that 7 rookie Cabinet Ministers were appointed on Wednesday; they include:
Gary Anandasangaree was first elected in 2015 as the M.P. for the Toronto riding of Scarborough-Rouge Park. He was born in Sri Lanka. He was sworn in on Wednesday as minister of Crown-Indigenous relations.
Arif Virani was elected as the M.P. for Parkdale-High Park in Toronto in 2015. He replaces David Lametti as minister of justice and attorney general. Virani came to Canada as a Ugandan Asian refugee in 1972, an Ismaili Muslim; he has a bachelor’s degree in history and political science from McGill University and a law degree from the University of Toronto.
Terry Beech has the new role of minister of citizens’ services; he was first elected to Burnaby North-Seymour B.C. in 2015. He is a former parliamentary secretary to the deputy prime minister and minister of finance, the fisheries minister, and the ministers of transport and science. In 1999, at 18, Beech was elected as a city councilor in Nanaimo, B.C.
Soraya Martinez Ferrada was first elected in 2019 in the Montreal riding of Hochelaga and was sworn in as Canada’s new minister of tourism and will be responsible for the Quebec economic development agency. She came to Canada with her family in 1980 as a political refugee from Chile.
Ya’ara Saks was first elected in 2020 to York Centre in Toronto. She was named minister of mental health and addictions, taking over for Carolyn Bennett. She has served as parliamentary secretary to the minister of families. Saks was born in Toronto and is a dual citizen of Canada and Israel.
Jenna Sudds was first elected as the M.P. for the Ottawa area riding of Kanata-Carleton in 2021. Suds was appointed as Minister of Families, children, and social development. She is a former parliamentary secretary to the minister for women and gender equality and youth. Previously she served as an Ottawa city councilor from 2018 to 2021 and held the role of deputy mayor from 2020.
Rechie Valdez was first elected in 2021 in the riding of Mississauga-Streetsville. She will serve as the minister of small business. Valdez was a member of a few parliamentary committees and associations. She was born and raised in Zambia and immigrated to Canada with her family in 1989 and is the country’s first Filipina M.P.
The Cabinet Represents New Canada, and that is the image that Trudeau and the Liberals wanted to project; 19 of the 40 Cabinet Ministers are women, and 11 members of the Cabinet are persons of color. Three members identify as LGBTQ2S+, and there continues to be just one Indigenous member.
The message moving forward is a Canada is a country of diversity and inclusion, and Trudeau’s new Cabinet demonstrates that message. Now let’s see if the Liberals can gain back their popularity.
