Dear Member,
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his new Cabinet at a ceremony held at Rideau Hall this morning. The announcement includes a significant number of new Ministers and portfolio changes, including the appointment of former Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez as the new Minister of Transport (replacing Omar Alghabra), and former Revenue Minister Diane Leboutillier as the new Minister of Fisheries and Oceans (replacing Joyce Murray). Both Mr. Alghabra and Ms. Murray had earlier indicated their intention not to run in the next election. Click HERE to view biographical notes for the new Transport Minister and HERE to view notes for the new DFO Minister.
Below is a more detailed summary of the new Cabinet as relates to Ministries that may be of particular interest to Federation members:
Ministers Moving to New or Restructured Portfolios
- Pablo Rodriguez – Minister of Transport (formerly Canadian Heritage)
- Diane Lebouthillier – Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard (formerly National Revenue)
- Lawrence MacAulay – Minister of Agriculture (formerly Veterans Affairs)
- Anita Anand – President of the Treasury Board of Canada (formerly National Defence)
- Bill Blair – Minister of National Defence (formerly Emergency Preparedness)
- Dominic Leblanc – Minister of Public Safety (retains Intergovernmental Affairs)
- Marc Miller – Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (formerly Crown – Indigenous Relations)
- Randy Boissonneault – Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages (formerly Tourism)
Ministers Retaining Their Portfolios
- Chrystia Freeland – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
- Francois-Philippe Champagne – Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry
- Steven Guilbeault – Minister of Environment and Climate Change
- Melanie Joly – Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Seamus O’Regan – Minister of Labour (also taking on Seniors portfolio)
- Jonathan Wilkinson – Minister of Natural Resources (portfolio now includes Energy, as well as Natural Resources)
- Mary Ng – Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development (portfolio slightly renamed)
A list of the full Cabinet (including links to all biographies) can be found HERE.
The Federation will be sending congratulatory letters to relevant Ministers over the next few days, with a view to highlighting issues of interest / concern to the ocean shipping industry that serves Canada’s exporters and importers.
We are also now awaiting publication of the ministerial mandate letters, which will outline the key priorities and strategic directions that the Prime Minister expects each Minister to fulfill over the coming months.
Sincerely,
Karen Kancens
Vice President