Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is hitting the refresh button as he announces sweeping changes to the face of his minority government.
A major cabinet shuffle is being unveiled on Wednesday in Ottawa.
Seven MP’s will be given cabinet positions for the first time, many in key ridings the Liberals hope to win again.
Bill Blair will become the new defence minister and Chrystia Freeland will remain deputy prime minister and in charge of finance.
Marco Mendicino, was dropped from cabinet.
The cabinet shuffle comes as the Liberals look to rebound in the polls ahead of an election in 2025.
First time Cabinet Ministers:
- Arif Virani becomes minister of justice and attorney general of Canada
- Soraya Martinez Ferrada becomes the minister of tourism and minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for Quebec Regions.
- Gary Anandasangaree becomes minister of Crown-Indigenous relations
- Terry Beech becomes minister of citizens’ services
- Ya’ara Saks becomes minister of mental health and addictions and associate minister of health
- Jenna Sudds becomes minister of families, children and social development
- Rechie Valdez becomes minister of small business
New roles for Liberal MP’s in Cabinet:
- Pablo Rodriguez becomes transport minister
- Anita Anand, who becomes president of the Treasury Board
- Dominic LeBlanc will now lead public safety
- Pascale St-Onge becomes minister of Canadian heritage
- Mark Holland becomes minister of health
- Sean Fraser becomes minister of housing, infrastructure and communities
- Lawrence MacAulay becomes minister of agriculture
- Jean-Yves Duclos becomes minister of public services and procurement
- Marie-Claude Bibeau becomes minister of national revenue
- Gudie Hutchings becomes minister of rural economic development and minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
- Diane Lebouthillier becomes minister of fisheries, oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard
- Harjit Sajjan becomes president of the Privy Council and minister of emergency preparedness
- Carla Qualtrough becomes minister of sport and physical activity
- Karina Gould becomes government House leader
- Ahmed Hussen becomes minister of international development
- Seamus O’Regan becomes minister of labour and seniors
- Ginette Petitpas Taylor becomes minister of veterans affairs
- Mary Ng becomes minister of export promotion, international trade and economic development
- Jonathan Wilkinson becomes minister of energy and natural resources
- Marc Miller becomes minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship
- Randy Boissonnault becomes minister of employment workforce development and official languages
- Kamal Khera becomes minister of diversity, inclusion and persons with disabilities.
Some ministers kept their portfolios:
- Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland
- Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly
- Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault
- Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne
- Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu, also minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario
- Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario Filomena Tassi
- Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal, also minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada and the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency
- Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth Marci Ien
