Prime Minister Trudeau announced a shakeup of the Parliamentary Secretaries this afternoon that saw the promotion of 9 new faces and moved others to new portfolios. This is the latest in a series of moves to shake up and solidify Trudeau’s government ahead of the House of Commons return on Monday, January 30th. In addition to Parliamentary Secretaries, the Government has also performed a Cabinet Shuffle and promoted a new Chief Whip since the New Year. Of the 35 new Cabinet members, 25 have previously served in that capacity with 13 moving to new roles, 12 staying put and 9 rookies promoted from the backbench. Parliamentary Secretaries represent their respective Ministers in the House of Commons when they are unable to attend as well as participate in departmentally relevant events, and Parliamentary Committees (though as of the 42nd Parliament, no longer as voting members).
New Faces
The 9 new Parliamentary Secretaries include Ginette Petitpas Taylor (NB) at Finance under Minister Bill Morneau, Sherry Romanado (QC) at Veteran Affairs under Minister Kent Hehr, Marc Miller (QC) at Infrastructure and Communities under Minister Amarjeet Sohi, Jean Rioux (QC) at National Defense under Minister Harjit Sajjan, Steven MacKinnon (QC) at Public Services and Procurement under Minister Judy Foote, Marco Mendicino (ON) at Justice under Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, Joël Lightbound (QC) at Health under Minister Jane Philpott and Andy Fillmore (NS) under Minister Karina Gould at Democratic Institutions.
Staying Put
Omar Alghabra (ON, Foreign Affairs – Consular Affairs), Bill Blair (ON, Justice), Rodger Cuzner (NS, Employment, Labour and Workforce Development), Gudie Hutchings (NL, Small Business and Tourism), Yvonne Jones (NL, Indigenous and Northern Affairs), Kevin Lamoureux (MB, Government House Leader), Stephane Lauzon (QC, Sport and Persons with Disabilities), Joyce Murray (BC, President of the Treasury Board), Jean-Claude Poissant (QC, Agriculture and Agri-Food), Kim Rudd (ON, Natural Resources), Peter Schifke (QC, Prime Minister, Youth) and Jonathan Wilkinson (BC, Environment and Climate Change Canada) have all be retained in their current roles.
On The Move
Celina Caesar-Chavannes (ON) and Adam Vaughn (ON), both previously served as Parliamentary Secretaries to the Prime Minister are now moving to new roles at International Development and Families, Children and Social Development respectively. Mark Holland (ON) moved from his former post at Democratic Affairs to the Public Safety portfolio. Terry Beech (BC) moved from Science to Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard. Sean Casey (PEI) moved from Justice to Canadian Heritage. Serge Cormier (NB) moved from Fisheries and Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. Terry Duguid (MB) moved from Families, Children and Social Development to Status of Women. Pamela Goldsmith-Jones (BC) moved from Foreign Affairs to International Trade. Kamal Khera (ON) moved from Health to International Revenue. David Lametti (QC) moved from International Trade to Innovation, Science and Economic Development. Karen McCrimmon (ON) moved from Veteran Affairs to Transport. Arif Virani (ON) moved to Canadian Heritage with emphasis on Multiculturalism, and Kate Young (ON) moved from Transport to Science. Pablo Rodriguez who had previously served at Infrastructure and Communities has become the new Chief Whip.
Left Out
Not retained in the shape-up of Parliamentary Secretaries were Leona Alleslev (ON), Randy Boissinault (AB) who was appointed the Prime Minister’s special advisor on LGBTQ2 issues in November, Anju Dhillon (QC), Emmanuel Dubourg (QC), Greg Fergus (QC), John MacKay (ON) and Michel Picard (QC).
New Session of Parliament Begins/Looking Ahead
The Trudeau Government heads into the new Parliamentary Session with a rebalanced team in hopes that it can better address issues around the relationship with the Trump White House, as well as fend off an energized Opposition looking to attack on issues of ethics, electoral reform, the Phoenix pay system and pipelines.
The Sussex Federal Government Relations team is reaching out to the new Parliamentary Secretaries to establish new ties and reinforce existing ones, while continuing to inform them about the work we do with their Departments and Ministers on behalf of our clients.
Don’t hesitate to contact our team should you have any questions or require more information regarding this update.
