HANNAFORD: The group that sets the agenda

How ‘new’ is Prime Minister Carney’s newly appointed cabinet? Is there anything about it that suggests a ‘mandate for change,’ as Mr. Carney claims is his goal — that, and building the strongest economy in the G7?Answer, Mr. Carney has surrounded himself with a tight little inner circle that shares his passions and will respond to his direction. There may well be changes coming. As for the strongest economy in the G7, well, that depends wherein strength is supposed to lay.In assessing this new cabinet, what matters is not the well-reported trivia that Mr. Carney has established a smaller main Cabinet than his predecessor — 28, down from 37 — or that he has appointed a 10-strong second tier of secretaries of state, or even that he has achieved ‘gender balance.’What does matter are four key appointments, those to Finance, Treasury Board, Environment and Energy. .That is not to say the other ministries don’t matter at all. However, nothing gets done that is not approved by Treasury Board, then budgeted by Finance Canada. Further, both Carney’s past career, and the conduct of his predecessor, suggest that for a Liberal government the limiter on energy development (aka economic growth) is always the environment, specifically the government’s commitment to so limit carbon dioxide emissions that no matter what human activity takes place, the effect on the atmosphere will be net-zero.So within the top tier of Cabinet, these four matter most:François-Philippe Champagne, is now Minister of Finance.Shafqat Ali becomes President of the Treasury Board. Julie Dabrusin becomes minister of environment and climate change.Tim Hodgson becomes Minister of Energy and Natural Resources.And for different reasons, they will respond strongly to Carney's leadership. Who are they?.First elected in 2015, Champagne has significant ministerial experience. It fell to him as Industry Minister for example, to shut down the scandal-plagued Sustainable Technology Development Fund, and later to shut down TikTok’s Canadian operations as a national security risk. And, as Canada’s tariff dispute with the US deepened, it was on Champagne’s watch as Innovation Minister, that foreign investments in Canada became subjected to an economic security review.He is a known quantity, and used by former PM Trudeau as a reliable foot-soldier, at both home and abroad..The other three are comparatively unknown.Mr. Ali, whose department now has the yes/no, go/no-go power for the entire federal government, was first elected in 2021. His presidency of the Treasury Board will be the first governmental responsibility of any kind that he has held. He was a realtor.Ms. Dabrusin describes herself in social media as a ‘community builder’ who loves ‘urban green spaces.’ She also described herself as a promoter of the arts. She appears to be careful about what she puts out on X, confining herself to anodyne virtue-signalling according to party priorities. However, in her parliamentary library profile, she reveals herself to be a strong opponent of the oilsands and all about transitioning away from fossil fuel use. No surprise there; for most of her time as an MP, she was Parliamentary Secretary to a succession of radical Environment Ministers, most recently Steven Guilbeault, and to Ministers for Energy and Natural Resources.Finally Tim Hodgson is a brand new MP, elected on April 28th. What he lacks in parliamentary experience he will make up for with his experience as Chairman of Ontario's Hydro One and as head of Canadian Operations for Goldman Sachs. And while Mr. Carney was Governor of the Bank of Canada, Hodgson was an adviser to him..Ali and Hodgson's lack of parliamentary experience is a surprise. Ali's elevation in particular from the back benches to one of the most powerful agencies of government is truly remarkable. Even Ms. Dabrusin, who has almost 10 years in the House, has had a rather narrow apprenticeship, confined as it is to keeping house for energy and environment ministers. On the other hand, she knows the files intimately and likewise — and importantly — is well acquainted with the departmental officials.Hodgson is obviously a capable corporate leader, and will no doubt be a quick study.Together with Champagne however, they are Carney dream team. Together with trusted senior PMO staff and the prime minister himself, this tight little group of true believers are 90% of what the Liberals have treated as important in government for the last ten years.And, whatever they lack in parliamentary experience — starting in fact with Mr. Carney himself — they share Mark Carney's environmentalist vision. They control where the federal government will spend its money and how much it will borrow.Whether the less experienced among them have the confidence to stand their ground in a cabinet disagreement, remains to be seen. Supposedly, they want change. We'll see. But when it comes to the simple question, 'which new pipeline shall we approve first?' I can't imagine who it is going to be who will be the first to ask.

HANNAFORD: The group that sets the agenda

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