Anand moves to foreign affairs, Guilbeault stays and Wilkinson is out in new Carney cabinet

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled on Tuesday a 38-person cabinet — 28 ministers and 10 secretaries of state — which showcased a mix of new faces and experienced ministers to represent a “big change” from the prior Liberal government. Speaking outside of Rideau Hall, Carney promised to get rapidly to work with his new team, with a first cabinet meeting being held on Wednesday. He said his cabinet is “smaller and more focused” than those of previous governments despite appointing roughly the same number of Privy Council members as Justin Trudeau’s final cabinet. “Canadians elected us with a mandate for change. So there is a great deal of change in this cabinet, by necessity. That’s what Canadians voted for,” said Carney. “Canadians voted for big change, not small change.” Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly was shuffled out of her role to instead take on the industry portfolio, whereas Industry Minister Anita Anand was chosen to take on the role of top diplomat at a time where Canada has to redefine its relationship with the United States. Speaking to reporters ahead of Carney’s press conference, Joly said the change of portfolio was not at all a demotion, and that she in fact asked for a new job. “I’m leaving the diplomatic front to work on the economic front of the trade war,” she said in French. Carney said half of his ministers are new in cabinet, and nine out of the 10 secretaries of state are new to a governing role. Among the two dozen new faces in his cabinet, 13 of them were just elected. The team includes representatives from all 10 provinces and a person from the territories. He also nearly respected 50-50 gender parity, with 14 female ministers out of 28, and four female secretaries of state out of 10. Tim Hodgson, who worked with Carney at the Bank of Canada and at Goldman Sachs, will replace Jonathan Wilkinson as minister of energy and natural resources, who does not find himself in cabinet. Former Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson will take on the critical role of minister of housing and infrastructure, while former broadcaster Evan Solomon will become minister of artificial intelligence. Other rookies include former Cree grand chief Mandy Gull-Masty as minister of Indigenous services and former prime minister Justin Trudeau deputy chief of staff Marjorie Michel, who was elected in her former boss’ riding of Papineau, as minister of health. Gary Anandasangaree is moving to the public safety department, while David McGuinty will be assuming the role of minister of national defence. Dominic LeBlanc will become President of the King’s Privy Council and minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade, intergovernmental affairs and “one Canadian economy.” After much speculation, François-Philippe Champagne is remaining in his role as minister of finance but will also be taking on the national revenue portfolio. Chrystia Freeland and Steven Guilbeault will also be remaining in their previous roles, respectively as minister of transport and internal trade and minister of Canadian identity and culture. Sean Fraser, who returned to politics after wanting to focus on his family, will become minister of justice and attorney general of Canada. Patty Hajdu will become minister of jobs and families, and Joanne Thompson remains as minister of fisheries. Steven MacKinnon will return as leader of the government in the House of Commons, a role he has previously served in during Karina Gould’s maternity leave last year. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said that Carney appointing former Trudeau ministers such as Guilbeault, Fraser, Freeland, Joly, LeBlanc and Anand shows change is not coming. “So far, it’s not a promising start. The first disappointment is his cabinet. He appointed Trudeau’s whole team and Trudeau’s old advisors,” he said. Poilievre also took a swipe at Robertson, criticizing him for a steep rise in housing prices and opioid deaths during his tenure as mayor of Vancouver. “If this is the new blood that Mr. Carney is bringing into the cabinet, then sadly for Canadians, nothing is going to change, and the role of the Conservative Party will be more important than ever,” he said. Eleanor Olszewski, a rookie MP in Alberta, becomes minister of emergency management and community resilience. Jill McKnight, also newly-elected in British Columbia, will become minister of veterans affairs and associate minister of national defence. Rebecca Alty, the new MP in the Northwest Territories, becomes minister of Crown-Indigenous relations. Rebecca Chartrand, who was just elected in Northern Manitoba, will take on the file of Northern and Arctic affairs. Several long-time Liberal MPs who have never served in cabinet got a promotion. Julie Dabrusin who becomes minister of environment and climate change after serving as Guilbeault’s parliamentary secretary for years and Joël Lightbound who becomes minister of government transformation, public works and procurement. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said in a statement she was “very concerned” that Carney had appointed Dabrusin, who “appears to be yet another anti-oil and gas Environment Minister.” Shafqat Ali will take on the role of President of the Treasury Board, whereas Maninder Sidhu becomes minister of international trade. Lena Metlege Diab becomes minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship and Heath MacDonald becomes minister of agriculture and agri-food. Carney also brought back titles that he had dropped when announcing his “war-time cabinet” last March and that sparked much criticism in some circles. As such, Rechie Valdez will become minister of women and gender equality and Guilbeault will also take on the role of minister responsible for official languages. Wayne Long, who called for Trudeau’s resignation last year, becomes secretary of state for the Canada Revenue Agency and financial institutions, while gun control activist Nathalie Provost will serve as secretary of state for nature. Anna Gainey, the wife of Carney’s new principal secretary Tom Pitfield, becomes secretary of state for children and youth. Former fighter pilot Stephen Fuhr will be taking on the file of defence procurement. Other ministers, some of whom were only appointed in March, were dropped out of this new cabinet: Bill Blair, Rachel Bendayan, Kody Blois, Arielle Kayabaga, Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Terry Duguid, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Elisabeth Brière and Ali Ehsassi. Erskine-Smith took to X to express his disappointment. He had decided to run again because he was named housing minister by Trudeau in December and remained in that role during Carney’s shuffle in March. “It’s impossible not to feel disrespected and the way it played out doesn’t sit right. But I’m mostly disappointed that my team and I won’t have the chance to build on all we accomplished with only a short runway,” he wrote. Former Quebec finance minister Carlos Leitão also did not make it to cabinet, despite being widely touted as a strong economic addition to the Liberal team. “It’s difficult to create a cabinet, a targeted cabinet, a small enough cabinet to govern in a fast and efficient manner,” candidly admitted Carney. “So… I made choices.” Parliament is set to come back on March 26, with a speech from the Throne to be read by King Charles III on March 27. Carney said his government would table immediate legislation to enact a middle-class tax cut and to eliminate all remaining federal barriers to internal trade — both of which he promised would be in place by Canada Day. But with the Liberals now at 170 seats — two short of a majority — Carney said his government would have to find two extra votes to make good on his promises. Cabinet: Shafqat Ali – President of the Treasury Board Rebecca Alty – Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Anita Anand – Minister of Foreign Affairs Gary Anandasangaree – Minister of Public Safety Rebecca Chartrand – Minister of Northern and Arctic Affairs and Minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency François-Philippe Champagne – Minister of Finance and National Revenue Julie Dabrusin – Minister of Environment and Climate Change Sean Fraser – Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency Chrystia Freeland – Minister of Transport and Internal Trade Steven Guilbeault – Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages Mandy Gull-Masty – Minister of Indigenous Services Patty Hajdu – Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario Tim Hodgson – Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Mélanie Joly – Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions Dominic LeBlanc – President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs and One Canadian Economy Joël Lightbound – Minister of Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement Heath MacDonald – Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Steven MacKinnon – Leader of the Government in the House of Commons David J. McGuinty – Minister of National Defence Jill McKnight – Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence Lena Metlege Diab – Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marjorie Michel – Minister of Health Eleanor Olszewski – Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience and Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada Gregor Robertson – Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada Maninder Sidhu – Minister of International Trade Evan Solomon – Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario Joanne Thompson – Minister of Fisheries Rechie Valdez – Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism) Secretaries of State: Buckley Belanger – Secretary of State (Rural Development) Stephen Fuhr – Secretary of State (Defence Procurement) Anna Gainey – Secretary of State (Children and Youth) Wayne Long – Secretary of State (Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions) Stephanie McLean – Secretary of State (Seniors) Nathalie Provost – Secretary of State (Nature) Ruby Sahota – Secretary of State (Combatting Crime) Randeep Sarai – Secretary of State (International Development) Adam van Koeverden – Secretary of State (Sport) John Zerucelli – Secretary of State (Labour) National Post

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