Trudeau shuffles cabinet as governing Liberals face new election threat

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau added eight fresh faces to his cabinet, though they may not have much time in those new roles after all.

Just before Trudeau moved to shore up his front bench on Friday, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh declared he is ready to vote down the government and will attempt to trigger an election in the new year.

Trudeau did not step outside of Rideau Hall to speak with the reporters queued to ask questions and address the consecutive blows that rocked his already struggling government this week.

When asked what assurances the prime minister has given the newly sworn in cabinet ministers that he will lead them into the next election, Official Languages Minister Rachel Bendayan said politics is fraught with difficult choices and that “the prime minister was quite clear that he has a choice that he’s reflecting on.”

She was one of a handful of cabinet ministers to step up to the microphone after the ceremony to say they have Trudeau’s back, despite reinvigorated calls from the Liberal caucus this week for Trudeau to step down.

“I would ask at this time, this very critical juncture, that we all push in the same direction,” implored new Veterans Affairs Minister Darren Fisher. “It’s time that we all get on the same track.”

“I believe this is a moment where we need to stand united,” said Transport Minister Anita Anand, pointing to the trade threats posed by incoming U.S. president Donald Trump.

Trudeau’s latest shuffle plugged gaps in his front bench and reassigned several roles, after several cabinet ministers decided not to run in the election next year. Though, he did not move the major players on his team.

The prime minister’s promotions to cabinet included Brampton, Ont. MP Ruby Sahota, St. John’s, N.L. MP Joanne Thompson and Sherbrooke, Que. MP Élisabeth Brière, along with Montreal MP Rachel Bendayan, Winnipeg MP Terry Duguid, Toronto MP Nate Erskine-Smith and Ottawa MP David McGuinty.

Trudeau’s government was dealt a massive blow by the surprise loss of Chrystia Freeland as finance minister earlier this week.

Losing Freeland quickly revived and amplified calls from within the Liberal caucus for Trudeau to step down for the good of his party.

Liberal MP Rob Oliphant posed a statement on social media ahead of the shuffle saying party faithful in his riding told him Trudeau has “become a key obstacle” to progress on the government’s progressive agenda and its “record of achievements is now at risk.”

Singh vowed he will attempt to bring down the government in a vote of no confidence once Parliament resumes in the new year, although he waited until the House of Commons had adjourned for the holidays to take this position and had prevented the government from falling throughout the fall sitting.

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet also recently said he believes Canadians should go to the polls in the new year as the country faces president-elect Trump’s tariff threats.

Parliament won’t return until Jan. 27, and Singh may not even get his chance until March.

Trudeau has several options to delay such a vote that could bring down his government, including by pausing parliament through proroguing. That could buy his party time to hold a quick leadership race, or reset the agenda while the governing party waits out the threat as long as possible until parliament has to return to pass spending measures.

Trudeau’s move to shuffle cabinet comes a month ahead of the inauguration of president-elect Donald Trump, leaving ministers with new portfolios just a few short weeks to learn their departments inside out.

McGuinty, a longtime Ottawa Liberal MP who has chaired the secretive national security committee of parliamentarians since 2017, is taking on the key role of public safety minister from Dominic LeBlanc, who was moved to finance quickly Monday after Freeland’s abrupt departure. His brother, former Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty, made the trip to Rideau Hall for the Friday morning ceremony.

Bendayan becomes minister of official languages and the associate minister of public safety. Public safety has taken on even more prominence in recent weeks as Canada rushes to beef up border security in response to Trump’s trade threats.

Anand, who has carried both transport and Treasury Board since Pablo Rodriguez left cabinet in September, holds onto the transport role while Ginette Petitpas-Taylor, who has been juggling both employment and veterans affairs, became president of the Treasury Board.

Steven MacKinnon adds employment to his file and maintains the labour post.

Gary Anandasangaree adds northern affairs to his job as minister of Crown-Indigenous Affairs, to replace Winnipeg MP Dan Vandal who is leaving cabinet after announcing he won’t seek re-election.

Winnipeg MP Terry Duguid takes on Vandal’s role as minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada, and replaces B.C. MP Carla Qualtrough as the sport minister.

Duguid is the only MP from the three prairie provinces in cabinet.

Brière replaces outgoing Liberal MP Marie-Claude Bibeau as national revenue minister.

Sahota becomes minister of democratic institutions and responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for southern Ontario, replacing Filomena Tassi, while Thompson takes on the seniors portfolio.

Trudeau said earlier this year he has been courting former central banker Mark Carney to join his government in a top role and tapped him as a special economic adviser to the Liberal party, but LeBlanc doused cold water on the idea of Carney becoming finance minister this week.