Parliamentary Secretary Shuffle completes Trudeau’s personnel shakeup ahead of Fall Session

‍Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced this morning substantial changes to the roster of Parliamentary Secretaries and the House leadership team ahead of the Fall Session of the House of Commons slated to begin on September 17th. 

The shakeup features nine promotions from the backbench, four demotions from the current ranks, 11 Parliamentary Secretaries remaining on their current files and 15 MPs moving to a new portfolio both to reflect the creation of new ministries and geographic realignment of last month’s cabinet shuffle. Additionally, the two vacancies in the Government’s House Leadership team have been filled with the appointment of a new Chief and Deputy Whip. Government House Leader Bardish Chagger, Deputy Government House Leader Chris Bittle and Parliamentary Secretary Kevin Lamoureux remain in place. 

Promotions 

Scarborough-Rouge River MP Gary Anandasangaree becomes Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism with specific responsibility for Multiculturalism. 

Central Nova MP Sean Fraser becomes the new Parliamentary Secretary for Environment and Climate Change Canada filling the gap left by Jonathan Wilkinson’s promotion to Fisheries and Oceans Minister last month. 

Rookie Lac-St-Jean MP Richard Hébert is rewarded for his upset by-election victory last December and becomes the new Parliamentary Secretary to Small Business and Export Development. 

South Shore-St. Margaret’s MP Bernadette Jordan becomes the new Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Democratic Institutions bringing the number of Nova Scotians within the PS ranks to 4. 

Sudbury MP Paul Lefebvre becomes the new Parliamentary Secretary to the new Minister of Natural Resources Amarjeet Sohi 

Pickering-Uxbridge MP Jennifer O’Connell becomes Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance with the newly created portfolio of Youth Economic Opportunity. This builds on her work as a longstanding member of the House Finance Committee during the 42nd Parliament. 

Oakville MP John Oliver becomes the new Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health filling the gap left by Bill Blair’s promotion to Cabinet. Oliver was CEO of Halton Healthcare Services prior to his entry into politics. 

King-Vaughan MP Deb Schulte currently serving as the Chair of the Environment and Sustainability Committee moves to become the new Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue. 

Saint Boniface-Saint Vital MP Dan Vandal becomes the new Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services. Vandal has a long history of activism on indigenous issues stemming from his 20 years as a Winnipeg City Councillor. 

Ajax MP Mark Holland has been named the new Chief Government Whip replacing Pablo Rodriguez, the move comes following speculation that Holland may have been looking at running for the vacant Ontario Liberal Leadership following the party’s defeat in the June 7th Provincial Election. 

Rivière-des-Mille-Îles MP Linda Lapointe has become the new Deputy Government Whip replacing Filomena Tassi. 

On the Move 

Mississauga Centre MP Omar Alghabra, currently Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Consular Affairs), becomes Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade Diversification. 

Burnaby North-Seymour MP Terry Beech, currently Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, becomes Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport. 

Charlottetown MP Sean Casey, currently Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, becomes Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard. 

Acadie-Bathurst MP Serge Cormier, currently Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, becomes Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence. 

Fredericton MP Matt DeCourcey, currently Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, becomes Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. 

Halifax MP Andy Fillmore, currently Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Democratic Institutions, becomes Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism. 

West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country MP Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, currently Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade Diversification, becomes Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Consular Affairs). 

Labrador MP Yvonne Jones, currently Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, becomes Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Intergovernmental and Northern Affairs and Internal Trade. 

Brampton West MP Kamal Khera, currently Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue, becomes Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development. 

Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation MP Stéphane Lauzon, currently Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities, becomes Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence. 

Fundy Royal MP Alaina Lockhart, currently Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Small Business and Tourism, becomes Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie. 

Kanata-Carleton MP Karen McCrimmon, currently Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport, becomes Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. 

Eglinton-Lawrence MP Marco Mendicino, currently Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, becomes Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities. 

Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs MP Marc Miller, currently Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, becomes Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations. 

Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne MP Sherry Romanado, currently Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, becomes Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Seniors. 

Vaudreuil—Soulanges MP Peter Schiefke remains Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister (Youth) and becomes Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction. 

Parkdale-High Park MP Arif Virani, currently Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage (Multiculturalism), becomes Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. 

London West MP Kate Young, currently Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Science, becomes Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Science and Sport and to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility (Accessibility). 

Remaining in Place 

A combination of steady hands and the heavy lifting being done on NAFTA, the Phoenix Pay System and Procurement, the Canada Housing Strategy, among other key deliverables, will keep the following Parliamentary Secretaries at their current files. 

Cape Breton-Canso MP Roger Cuzner remains Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour. 

LaSalle—Émard—Verdun MP David Lametti remains Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. 

Winnipeg North MP Kevin Lamoureux remains Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons. 

Orleans MP Andrew Leslie remains Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada-US Affairs). 

Louis-Hébert MP Joël Lightbound remains Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance. 

Gatineau MP Steven MacKinnon remains Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility. 

Vancouver Quadra MP Joyce Murray remains Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Digital Government. 

La Prarie MP Jean-Claude Poissant remains Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. 

Spadina-Fort York MP Adam Vaughan remains Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development. 

Stepping Back 

Northumberland-Peterborough South MP Kim Rudd is out at Natural Resources Canada after a lengthy tenure. Rudd spoke to the Peterborough Examiner and posted on Facebook yesterday a desire to spend more time focusing on the riding and local issues ahead of the 2019 Election. 

Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP Don Rusnak also posted on his website and social media yesterday that he was stepping away from the PS role at Indigenous Services citing a heavy travel schedule taking away from his young family. Rusnak affirmed his commitment to running in the 2019 Election. 

Whitby MP Celina Caesar-Chavannes is out in her role at International Development and Saint-Jean MP Jean Rioux is out at National Defence. Neither have commented publicly on the moves but both are expected to face competitive re-election campaigns next year as well. 

Conclusion 

Today’s moves complete the Government’s summer personnel realignment strategy. Barring unforeseen circumstances, they have solidified the team that will take them into the final Parliamentary session prior to the 2019 Canadian General Election. There remains speculation that the Government may prorogue parliament in order to also realign its legislative agenda with a new Speech from the Throne. However, whether this will occur remains unclear at present. 

As always, the Sussex Federal Government Relations Team is happy to provide any additional information or clarification you require regarding the shuffle and transition of the Parliamentary Secretaries into their new or expanded roles. 

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For more information please contact:

Brett James - Principal, bjames@sussex-strategy.com, 416-961-6611 ext. 107
‍Devin McCarthy - Vice President, dmccarthy@sussex-strategy.com, 613-691-0319 ext. 3450
‍Hugues Théorêt - Senior Associate, htheoret@sussex-strategy.com, 343-542-4788
‍Liam Daly - Associate, ldaly@sussex-strategy.com, 613-691-0319 ex. 3451
‍Morva Rohani - Policy and Research Lead, mrohani@sussex-strategy.com, 416-961-6611 ext. 106