5 Things to Know About Trudeau’s Cabinet Shuffle

Minister of Sport Terry Duguid is sworn in by Clerk of the Privy Council John Hannaford during a cabinet swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Dec. 20, 2024. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has shuffled his cabinet after a week of turmoil, which started with the resignation of former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland and former Housing Minister Sean Fraser from cabinet and escalated with Liberal MPs calling for Trudeau to step down.

The week culminated with the NDP, the last opposition party to consistently support the minority Liberals in confidence votes, saying minutes after announcement of the new cabinet that it will drop its support to bring down the government.

Here are five takeaways from Trudeau’s cabinet shuffle on Dec. 20.

8 New Faces

There are eight new MPs entering cabinet, many of whom were backbencher MPs.

Ontario MP David McGuinty has become public safety minister after the minister previously holding that role, Dominic LeBlanc, was on Dec. 16 sworn in as finance minister to replace Freeland.

Toronto-area MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith took over the housing portfolio, previously held by Fraser.

Montreal-area MP Rachel Bendayan is the new official languages minister and associate minister of public safety, taking over from Ginette Petitpas Taylor, who was moved to the Treasury Board.

Sherbrooke, Que., MP Élisabeth Brière is the new minister of national revenue, replacing Marie-Claude Bibeau. Bibeau, who had said she won’t be seeking re-election, was left out of cabinet.

Winnipeg-area MP Terry Duguid was promoted to minister of sport and minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada. Carla Qualtrough, who was previously minister of sport, had said she’s not seeking re-election and was left out of cabinet.

Nova Scotia MP Darren Fisher is now the minister of veterans affairs, which was previously also held by Petitpas Taylor.

Ontario MP Ruby Sahota is the new minister of democratic institutions and the minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario. The democratic institutions portfolio was previously held by Leblanc.

Newfoundland and Labrador MP Joanne Thompson is now the minister of seniors, which was previously held by Steve MacKinnon while he was also holding the labour portfolio. MacKinnon remains in cabinet as labour minister.

Some Got Shuffled

The prime minister shuffled out several ministers who are not seeking re-election, including former Housing Minister Fraser, Sport Minister Qualtrough, National Revenue Minister Bibeau, Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal, and Southern Ontario Economic Development Minister Filomena Tassi.

Other MPs remained within cabinet but were shuffled to different roles. LeBlanc was the first to be shuffled earlier this week, being moved to finance.

Anita Anand is losing her position as president of the Treasury Board, but will maintain her position as transport minister and gain an additional portfolio as head of internal trade.

Erskine-Smith Changes His Mind About Not Running in Next Election

Erskine-Smith is a three-term MP for the Toronto riding of Beaches–East York. He is known for at times dissenting from party leadership.

Erskine-Smith, who will replace Sean Fraser as housing minister, had not originally planned to run for re-election. He posted on his Substack page back in January that he wanted to stay closer to his family and that it would be “time for someone else to step up and serve Beaches-East York after the next federal election.”

He also ran in the 2023 Ontario Liberal Party leadership race, which was won by Bonnie Crombie.

But speaking to reporters on Dec. 20, Erskine-Smith said he had changed his mind and seemed to acknowledge that the cabinet may not last long. “I understand there’s going to be a short runway. I’m not blind to that. But if I can make a small difference, if I can make a big difference, I want to make the biggest difference that I can,” he said.

“That’s why I joined politics in the first place. ... It wasn’t an easy decision, by any means.”

One Was Formerly Chair of Committee Behind Explosive Report on FI

McGuinty, who has been an MP for Ottawa South since 2004, has never served in cabinet or had a parliamentary secretary role. However, he had been chair of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) since 2017.

The committee, which reports to the prime minister, released an explosive report on June 3 saying that some parliamentarians have been “semi-witting or witting” participants in the efforts of foreign states to interfere in Canadian politics.

McGuinty, one of 10 siblings, also comes from a family of politicians. His brother Dalton served as Ontario premier from 2003 to 2013, while his father, Dalton McGuinty Sr., was a member of the Ontario Liberal Party and served as an MPP from 1987 to 1990.

Some Wear 2 Hats

A number of MPs have dual roles in this cabinet. While LeBlanc has been moved to the role of finance minister, he retains leadership over border security plans, despite McGuinty’s appointment as public safety minister.

MacKinnon keeps his job as labour minister while also taking over the role of employment and workforce development from Randy Boissonnault. Boissonnault recently resigned to focus on clearing his name, as a company he co-owned is facing allegations of improper business conduct.

Gary Anandasangaree keeps his role as minister of Crown-indigenous relations, while also taking on the northern affairs and Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency portfolios, taking over for Vandal, who is not seeking re-election.

Anand was given the role of internal trade in addition to maintaining the transport portfolio.

Sahota now serves as minister of democratic institutions as well as the minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.

Duguid is the minister of sport as well as the minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada.