Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau to name new cabinet
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will name his new cabinet today following September’s general election.
The election returned Trudeau’s minority government to power but set a record for the lowest vote share–32.6%–of a party that went on to form a premiership. Although Trudeau’s Liberals gained five seats, at 160 they still fall short of the 170-threshold for a majority.
Trudeau publicly stated that “gender parity” is a starting point for any cabinet he forms. The cabinet will be expected to move quickly on a host of issues, including the pandemic, inflation and climate change.
In addition to gender equity, expect Trudeau’s cabinet to prioritize the inclusion of new ministers with provincial leadership experience, after the pandemic exacerbated longstanding grievances about Ottawa’s lack of attention to regional provinces. Trudeau will likely use the reshuffle to demote ministers including Health Minister Patty Hajdu, following criticism of her vaccination rollout. Whether Jonathan Wilkinson remains as Minister for Environment and Climate Change is unknown, as Trudeau positions himself and Canada as global climate change leaders ahead of COP26, which starts this month in Glasgow. Expect the cabinet to help Trudeau continue addressing climate change, especially emissions, but move more slowly on inflation.
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