Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shuffled his cabinet during a ceremony at Rideau Hall on July 26, with notable ousters including Marco Mendicino and David Lametti.
The stripping of several top ministerial roles was accompanied by the promotion of seven MPs to cabinet and 23 portfolios changing hands.
Arif Virani received the biggest promotion, jumping from parliamentary secretary to the minister of international trade to replacing Mr. Lametti as minister of justice and attorney general.
Mr. Virani, who worked previously as a constitutional lawyer, has represented a Toronto area riding since 2015 and served as vice-chair on the Parliament’s Special Joint Committee on the Declaration of Emergency.
Mr. Lametti highlighted his record in a statement on July 26, saying he passed “significant law reforms” as minister, while congratulating his successor. He has not commented on his future, unlike four other ministers who were shuffled out and who announced earlier this week they would not run again.
Dominic Leblanc, minister of intergovernmental affairs, is keeping this role while adding the public safety portfolio. As such, he will take additional responsibilities on the foreign interference file, having been already involved in talks with opposition parties on the terms of a public inquiry into the matter.
Mr. Mendicino’s exit comes after the recent controversy surrounding the transfer of Paul Bernardo to a medium security prison. He said he had not been warned about the transfer, but the Correctional Service of Canada had advised his office.
Mr. Mendicino said in a statement published a few hours before the shuffle that he intends to run in the next election, saying he’s proud of what he accomplished, first as minister of immigration and then at public safety.
Another senior minister to lose her post and exit cabinet is Mona Fortier. Anita Anand will replace Ms. Fortier at the Treasury Board, leaving the Department of National Defence.
Mr. Trudeau did not explain his decision to fire those senior ministers when asked about it during a press conference following the swearing-in ceremony.
He said he wants to put together the “strongest possible team with fresh energy and a range of skills” to “continue the really important work of showing Canadians the positive and ambitious vision for the future that we’re so committed to and that I know Canadians need and deserve.”
One of Ms. Anand’s main tasks was to implement a culture change in the Canadian Armed Forces. She leaves the department as the military is severely impacted by retention, recruitment, and procurement problems.
Bill Blair, who received a demotion in a previous shuffle by losing the public safety portfolio and retaining only the emergency preparedness file, gets a promotion this time around by being put in charge of defence.
Taking over Mr. Blair’s former job is Harjit Sajjan, a previous minister of defence who in a similar fashion is taking a step forward after taking one backward. Sajjan was named president of the King’s Privy Council and minister of emergency preparedness, leaving behind the international development portfolio.
Seeking a different stewarding of the housing file as the country continues to grip with an affordability crisis, Trudeau has moved Ahmed Hussen to international development.
Mr. Hussen is replaced by Sean Fraser, who’s been focused on meeting increasingly high targets as immigration minister.
Jean-Yves Duclos, previously minister of health, replaces Helena Jaczek as public services and procurement minister. Ms. Jaczek has been moved out of cabinet and said she won’t seek another term as MP.
Mr. Duclos is replaced by Mark Holland, who was government house leader. Karina Gould is taking on Mr. Holland’s former role.
Omar Alghabra, who was removed from the transport file and from cabinet, has said he will also not run again. Mr. Alghabra had come under pressure for the airport woes due to post-COVID-19 restrictions and the chaos over the 2022 Christmas holidays.
Mr. Alghabra is replaced by Pablo Rodriguez, who successfully passed two major bills this year increasing the government’s control over the information space.
Pascale St-Onge is getting a promotion in replacing Mr. Rodriguez at Heritage Canada, after helming the sports file.
Several ministers have retained their portfolios, including Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne.
