Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is shuffling his cabinet this morning. He is expected to make several changes to his ministerial roster in a bid to inject some stability at a tumultuous time for the embattled Liberal government.
The sizable rejigging follows the shocking resignation of Chrystia Freeland and will address other outstanding vacancies, as several ministers in recent months have either left their cabinet positions or have declared they are not seeking re-election.
The ceremony at Rideau Hall is set to begin at 11:30 a.m. EST and Trudeau will attend, his first public appearance since facing fresh calls to resign.
Today’s shuffle is shaping up to see several Liberal backbenchers promoted to ministerial posts.
According to sources, Ontario MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith will become Canada’s next housing minister, taking over for Sean Fraser, who announced on Monday that he wouldn’t be running again.
And, taking over the public safety portfolio from Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc – who took on the top economic post on Monday after Freeland quit – will be Ontario MP and current chair of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) David McGuinty.
Sources have told CTV News that the other Liberal MPs who will be joining cabinet are Quebec MP Rachel Bendayan, Nova Scotia MP Darren Fisher and Manitoba MP Terry Duguid.
Sources have indicated that while Trudeau is ready to make changes to his inner circle, it’s not to be interpreted as the prime minister being ready to declare his next steps, and it remains to be seen if he takes questions following the shuffle.
Trudeau has also called a cabinet meeting for 3 p.m. EST.
Asked Thursday whether Trudeau still has the full support of his cabinet to stay on as prime minister, LeBlanc said “yes.”
LeBlanc is one minister who said Trudeau has told him he’ll be staying in his role until the next election, which has consequently poured cold water on the chatter around Mark Carney imminently making his federal political debut.
Anita Anand is currently doing double duty as Treasury Board president and transport minister, and she’s likely to not keep both portfolios.
Similarly, Veterans Affairs Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor was told last month that her taking on the employment, workforce development and official languages title would be temporary.
Other ministers expected to be shuffled out of cabinet because they have said they won’t be running are Marie-Claude Bibeau, Carla Qualtrough, Filomena Tassi and Dan Vandal.
Their anticipated departures mean the national revenue, sport and northern affairs portfolios will also be up for grabs, alongside a set of regional economic development ministries.
Throughout his shuffles, Trudeau has sought to uphold gender parity and balance regional representation as best as possible, though, with smaller pools of backbench MPs to look to in Western and Atlantic Canada, upholding those tenets may be more challenging this time.