Shaking up the system. Brampton West MP Kamal Khera and Oakville MP Anita Anand will take on key roles ahead of Parliament’s return on Nov. 22, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Tuesday.
Trudeau’s new cabinet boasts 38 ministers (19 men and 19 women), including three Indian-origin MPs (Anand, Khera and Harjeet Singh Sajjan), with key portfolios changing hands as the Prime Minister, seeks to shore up key challenges ahead of his next term.
“Canadians are expecting big things to be done by Parliament,” Trudeau said during a press conference held after the cabinet ceremony at Rideau Hall Tuesday. These are no small tasks. These are the things that Canadians expect us to do. and with a refreshed and reinvigorated team around me. I’m really excited about what we’re going to be able to accomplish for Canadians.”
The cabinet reshuffle includes seven new ministers, including Khera, who will take on the role of Minister of Seniors. At the same time, Bardish Chaggar, an MP from Waterloo who has been in Trudeau’s cabinet since 2015, was not included in the cabinet this time. Sajjan, who faced criticism over his handling of Canada’s defence portfolio, including allegations of sexism in its ranks, has been removed from the cabinet and given the Minister of International Development portfolio, while Anand will take on the Minister of Defence role.
Trudeau dismissed criticism of Sajjan’s changed priorities, noting that the former defence minister “ rose to the ranks of challenging culture in our military, and (was) consistently pushed back against the old boys’ network.” Anand handled the country’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout and noted that changing the culture of the country’s armed forces “is going to take time.”
Trudeau’s first election in 2015 saw him with a cabinet that included 31 members. With the increase in members to 39, the annual salary cost is $709,000. In a statement Tuesday, Conservative leader Erin O’Toole stated that “It is clear from (these) appointments that the Trudeau government is not serious about addressing Canada’s economic challenges… (they) represent just another example of the prime minister continuing to reward ministers who have consistently demonstrated incompetence and a lack of accountability.”
Liberal MP Mark Holland dismissed criticism regarding a previous decision to increase Stephen Harper’s cabinet from 27 members in January 2007 to 32, claiming it was an unnecessary expense. Holland was among the 39 MPs who were sworn into Trudeau’s expanded cabinet, which now has 39 members, balanced across genders. MPs are paid a $185,800 annual base salary. Cabinet ministers get an additional $88,700 annually, as well as a host other perks like drivers, staff and increased office budgets.
Trudeau’s first election in 2015 saw him take office with a cabinet that included 31 members. With the increase in members to 39, the annual salary cost is $709,000. Additional staff costs, which could easily reach the millions for eight additional ministers, are not included.
Here’s how the Liberal cabinet currently stands: ·
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance (Chrystia Freeland) ·
Minister of Transport (Omar Alghabra) ·
Minister of National Defence (Anita Anand) ·
Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health (Carolyn Bennett) ·
Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food (Marie- Claude Bibeau) ·
President of Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness (Bill Blair) ·
Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance (Randy Boissonnault) ·
Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry (Francois Phillipe Champagne) ·
Minister of Health (Jean-Yves Duclos) · President, Treasury Board (Mona Fortier) ·
Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (Sean Fraser) · Minister of Families, Children and Social Development (Karina Gould) ·
Minister of Environment and Climate Change (Steven Guilbeault) ·
Minister of Indigenous Services and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario (Patty Hajdu) ·
Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Mark Holland) ·
Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion (Ahmed Hussen) ·
Minister of Rural Economic Development (Guide Hutchings) ·
Minister of Women, Gender Equality and Youth (Marci Ien) ·
Minister Responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (Helena Jaczek) ·
Minister of Foreign Affairs (Mélanie Joly) ·
Minister of Seniors (Kamal Khera) · Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada (David Lametti) ·
Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities (Dominic Leblanc) ·
Minister of National Revenue ( Diane Lebouthillier) ·
Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence ( Lawrence MacAulay) ·
Minister of Public Safety (Marco Mendicino) ·
Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations (Marc Miller) ·
Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard (Joyce Murray) ·
Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development (Mary Ng) · Minister of Labour (Seamus O’Regan Jr.) ·
Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (Ginette Petitpas Taylor) ·
Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion (Carla Qualtrough) ·
Minister of Canadian Heritage and Quebec Lieutenant (Pablo Rodriguez) ·
Minister of International Development and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada (Harjit Sajjan) ·
Minister of Sport and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec (Pascale St-Onge) ·
Minister of Public Services and Procurement (Filomena Tassi) ·
Minister of Northern Affairs, Minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (Dan Vandal) ·
Minister of Natural Resources (Jonathan Wilkinson)
