Trudeau Mixes Up Cabinet

The 2021 Federal Election of Canada has come and gone and the new cabinet assignments have been accounted for. This election was not a surprise to the majority of Canada, but came at a time where it was highly criticized by the general public as a power grab. The election was one of the most expensive Canada has ever seen, with 610 million dollars spent on a 36-day election that yielded similar numbers for parties as their previous election in 2019. The 2021 election also had a lower voter turnout compared to recent years due to a short election cycle  and the effects of a global pandemic. 

The majority of the new Cabinet is represented by Ontario (42%) and Quebec (29%). There are no members of the cabinet from North West Territories, Yukon, Nunavut or Saskatchewan. The cabinet continues to be 50% men and 50% women, with eight visible minorities, one Indigenous person and three LGBTQ2S+ people. Eight members are new to the cabinet and 31 are returning. The most notable change within this cabinet is that the three most prominent positions will now be held by women: those positions being Finance, Defence and Foreign Affairs. 

Some notable changes: 

Mélanie Joly will transition to Minister of Foreign Affairs, a very high profile job. Joly has a bachelors of Law and has worked in the government since 2015. Joly speaks both English and French and was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. Joly’s past roles within Cabinet have been Minister of Economic Development, Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie, and Minister of Canadian Heritage. 

Chrystia Freeland will be remaining the deputy Prime Minister and will also stay as the Minister of Finance which she was promoted to in 2020 after Bill Morneau, who held the position from 2015 to 2020. 

Anita Anand becoming National Defence Minister is a landmark shift, as she is only the second woman to hold this position after PM Kim Campbell in the 1990’s. Anand is a Canadian lawyer and MP for Oakville, Ontario. She has represented the area since the 2019 election. Her former role was Head of Public Services and Procurement. Anand is looking to make changes within the culture of the Canadian military and is up for a fight when it comes to sexual misconduct, saying “My top priority is to make sure that everyone in the Armed Forces feels safe and protected and that they have the support that they need when they need it and the structures in places to ensure that justice is served” (CTV). Anand takes on this role after Harjit Sajjan who has been moved to international development and was criticized for handling the sexual misconduct allegations and providing very little change to what has been reported within the military for years. Anand will be looking at all past and present reports including the independent review into harassment and sexual misconduct that was done in the spring of this past year. 

Steven Guilbeault is taking over as Climate Change Minister ahead of the United Nations climate change summit in Glasgow. He previously served as Heritage Minister. This promotion may cause some criticism due to Guilbeault’s involvement with groups such as Greenpeace, but others find that he’s fitting as a climate change minister. Guilbeault wants to work towards the Liberal Party’s goal of getting carbon emissions below 2005 levels before 2030. 

Sean Fraser will have his first seat in the cabinet as Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. The Nova Scotia MP is one of the few from the maritime provinces to be sitting in cabinet this time around. 

Hajdu has been the elected member for Thunder Bay-Superior North since 2015 and will be taking on the role of Minister of Indigenous Services. Hajdu previously served as Minister of Health, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, and, lastly, Minister of Status of Women. Before her elected role she was an active member within the Thunder Bay community as director of Shelter House and a Lakehead University graduate. Hajdu will be working with Marc Miller as he shifts into the role of Crown-Indigenous Relations. 

After her public apology, Carolyn Bennet is being moved out of Indigenous Relations and into the role as Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. 

The list for Cabinet including PM Trudeau includes 40 people, making this a large cabinet for Canada. The roles and people in them are now the ones helping make informed choices that can possibly impact our daily lives.