Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made three key changes to his cabinet Tuesday morning during a virtual ceremony with Governor General Julie Payette, following the resignation of minister of industry, innovation, and science Navdeep Bains (Liberal MP Mississauga)..Bains said in a video posted Tuesday on social media that he plans to spend more time with his family, and has decided not to run in the next election..Foreign affairs minister François-Philippe Champagne will replace Bains as industry minister..Transport minister Marc Garneau was moved to foreign affairs, becoming Canada’s top diplomat..Mississauga MP Omar Alghabra, previously the parliamentary secretary to the minister of international trade diversification, will take over Garneau’s former post as minister of transport in his first cabinet level appointment..Former natural resources minister and Winnipeg MP Jim Carr will be returning to cabinet as a minister without a portfolio and special representative for the Prairies..The cabinet shuffle is viewed by some as a move toward addressing tensions with China, Huawei and the airline industry, in preparation for a spring election..Champagne will assume responsibility for reviewing foreign investments such as Huawei and predatory takeover attempts amid the pandemic..Garneau will take over handling Canada’s tense relations with China. This will include working with the incoming Biden administration on key files, such as securing the release of the “Two Michaels”, now detained by China for more than two years in retaliation for the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.Alghabra will be dealing directly with the airline industry as it continues to push for government aid amid the coronavirus pandemic, and on the issue of refunding the costs of cancelled flights to Canadian travelers..Alghabra said his life experience, arriving in Canada from Saudi Arabia as a student with only one cousin in the country, as a Syrian Muslim and an engineer, has positioned him well to provide insight at the cabinet table with this opportunity to “serve along giants.”.Carr was one of only a handful of Liberals re-elected in the Prairies during the 2019 election, which heightened tensions across Western Canada over resource sector issues and lack of political representation in Ottawa..In a statement, Carr described the job as being Trudeau’s “eyes and ears in the West, I’m a lifelong westerner and have a deep attachment to the region, Many western Canadians are feeling frustrated. I will work with them, listen to them and advocate for a strong West in a united Canada.”.The latest cabinet occurs amidst rumours of a spring election, and in the wake of new polling conducted by Ipsos for Global News, suggesting that the Liberals may be approaching a level of support needed to win a majority..The Ipsos results indicate the Liberal handling of the pandemic to date has placed them close to majority territory – as Conservative support drops, particularly in the key electoral background of Ontario – with the Liberals at 36 per cent support among decided voters nationally (up from 35 per cent in December) and the Conservatives dropping to 29 per cent support (a drop of three per cent since last December)..Ken Grafton is the Western Standards Ottawa Bureau Chief. He can be reached at kgrafton@westernstandardonline.com
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made three key changes to his cabinet Tuesday morning during a virtual ceremony with Governor General Julie Payette, following the resignation of minister of industry, innovation, and science Navdeep Bains (Liberal MP Mississauga)..Bains said in a video posted Tuesday on social media that he plans to spend more time with his family, and has decided not to run in the next election..Foreign affairs minister François-Philippe Champagne will replace Bains as industry minister..Transport minister Marc Garneau was moved to foreign affairs, becoming Canada’s top diplomat..Mississauga MP Omar Alghabra, previously the parliamentary secretary to the minister of international trade diversification, will take over Garneau’s former post as minister of transport in his first cabinet level appointment..Former natural resources minister and Winnipeg MP Jim Carr will be returning to cabinet as a minister without a portfolio and special representative for the Prairies..The cabinet shuffle is viewed by some as a move toward addressing tensions with China, Huawei and the airline industry, in preparation for a spring election..Champagne will assume responsibility for reviewing foreign investments such as Huawei and predatory takeover attempts amid the pandemic..Garneau will take over handling Canada’s tense relations with China. This will include working with the incoming Biden administration on key files, such as securing the release of the “Two Michaels”, now detained by China for more than two years in retaliation for the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.Alghabra will be dealing directly with the airline industry as it continues to push for government aid amid the coronavirus pandemic, and on the issue of refunding the costs of cancelled flights to Canadian travelers..Alghabra said his life experience, arriving in Canada from Saudi Arabia as a student with only one cousin in the country, as a Syrian Muslim and an engineer, has positioned him well to provide insight at the cabinet table with this opportunity to “serve along giants.”.Carr was one of only a handful of Liberals re-elected in the Prairies during the 2019 election, which heightened tensions across Western Canada over resource sector issues and lack of political representation in Ottawa..In a statement, Carr described the job as being Trudeau’s “eyes and ears in the West, I’m a lifelong westerner and have a deep attachment to the region, Many western Canadians are feeling frustrated. I will work with them, listen to them and advocate for a strong West in a united Canada.”.The latest cabinet occurs amidst rumours of a spring election, and in the wake of new polling conducted by Ipsos for Global News, suggesting that the Liberals may be approaching a level of support needed to win a majority..The Ipsos results indicate the Liberal handling of the pandemic to date has placed them close to majority territory – as Conservative support drops, particularly in the key electoral background of Ontario – with the Liberals at 36 per cent support among decided voters nationally (up from 35 per cent in December) and the Conservatives dropping to 29 per cent support (a drop of three per cent since last December)..Ken Grafton is the Western Standards Ottawa Bureau Chief. He can be reached at kgrafton@westernstandardonline.com
