Mark Carney put his stamp on his new government with a cabinet made up mostly of new faces.
What happened: Carney named a cabinet of 28 cabinet ministers and 10 secretaries of state to head up the federal government. Twenty-four of them are new to cabinet, and 13 were elected as members of Parliament for the first time last month.
- Some ministers are staying put — François-Philippe Champagne remains the Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland stays at transport, and Dominic LeBlanc will continue handling Canada-U.S. trade while also taking on responsibility for eliminating internal trade barriers.
- Anita Anand will replace Mélanie Joly as Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Joly takes over the industry portfolio.
- Tim Hodgson, former CEO of Goldman Sachs Canada, replaces Jonathan Wilkinson as the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources.
- Former Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson replaces Nate Erskine-Smith as the housing minister.
- Former journalist Evan Solomon is taking on a newly created portfolio as Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation.
Why it matters: By elevating a large crop of fresh names to cabinet, Carney is trying to signal a break with the Trudeau era, but the makeup of his team suggests the government’s top priorities will be handled by the prime minister’s inner circle.
- For example, Hodgson, who worked with Carney at Goldman Sachs and the Bank of Canada, will be tasked with building new resource projects and energy infrastructure.
What’s next: The first big test of the new cabinet will be whether it can bring down internal trade barriers by Carney’s self-imposed Canada Day deadline, despite signs of provincial foot-dragging.—TS
