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Will cabinet reshuffle by Trudeau give more representation to South Asians?
While a section of the Liberal Party caucus has spearheaded a campaign to pressure Trudeau to quit, most Liberal MPs of South Asian descent continue to rally behind the PM.
Justin Trudeau. / REUTERS/Carlos Osorio/File Photo
Will the South Asian community get enhanced representation when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reshuffles his Cabinet on Dec.20?
While a section of the Liberal Party caucus has spearheaded a campaign to pressure Trudeau to quit, most Liberal MPs of South Asian descent continue to rally behind the Prime Minister.
Of the MPs of South Asian descent already represented on the Cabinet, the President of the Treasury Board and Transport Minister Anita Anand looks certain to continue in her position. Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, is also expected to retain his place.
The week began with the abrupt resignation of Trudeau’s deputy prime minister and finance minister, Chrystia Freeland, and the departure of his housing minister Sean Fraser.
Justin Trudeau may not name a new Deputy Prime Minister after the Cabinet rejig on Dec.20.
Events that started unfolding after Trudeau made an air dash to Florida on Nov.29 for a meeting with the US President-elect Donald Trump, continue to torment the minority Liberal government. Resignations by Cabinet ministers and a concerted campaign by more than 20 members of the Liberal caucus wanting Trudeau to quit have aggravated the situation.
To the great relief of Trudeau, Cabinet ministers, Parliamentary secretaries and MPs belonging to the South Asian community, have rallied behind him. Liberals have the largest representation of MPs in the South Asian community.
Other Indo-Canadian Liberal MPs besides Anita Anand are Harjit Singh Sajjan, Bardish Chagger, Kamal Khera, Ruby Sahota, Sonia Sidhu, Maninder Sidhu, Chandra Arya, Sukh Dhaliwal, George Chahal, Arif Virani, Randeep Serai, Anju Dhillon, and Iqwinder Gaheer.
A major rejig
Chrystia Freeland resigned on December 16 ahead of her presentation of the Fall Economic Statement, prompting Trudeau to quickly swear in Dominic LeBlanc, who was at that time public safety minister, to fill the role of finance minister. LeBlanc has retained his intergovernmental affairs portfolio.
Housing Minister Sean Fraser announced the same day he was leaving the cabinet to spend more time with his family, making clear his intentions not to seek re-election.
As of now, there are at least three ministers who are wearing more than one cap. Anita Anand is the president of the Treasury Board and transport minister, Ginette Petitpas Taylor is serving as veterans affairs minister and employment minister, and the new Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc also holds the portfolio of public safety, democratic institutions and intergovernmental affairs.
Before Freeland resigned, speculations were galore that former Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney would join the Cabinet. However, it has been stated now that he would not be joining the Cabinet.
Even the new Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc in an interview with a media house said that bringing in Mark Carney was not an option and that he would continue as Finance Minister till the next election in 2025. Since he is also wearing multiple caps at the moment, he made it clear that he would continue to see the contagious issue of overseeing the international border with the US.
The Cabinet rejig would also see replacements for five ministers who have announced that they would not seek re-election. Besides Sean Fraser, Sports Minister Carla Qualtrough, National Revenue Minister Marie-Claude-Bibeau, Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal, and Southern Ontario Economic Development Minister Filomena Tassi, have already announced they would not be seeking re-election in 2025.
Justin Trudeau, who has avoided any media interaction since Chrystia Freeland’s departure, will also look to set a new Cabinet that could see the Government through the concerted onslaughts of the Opposition for the remainder of his term.
He had already seen the departure of many of his Cabinet colleagues, including former Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez, who plans to run for leadership of the Quebec Liberal Party; former Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan, who left for family reasons; and former Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault, who resigned to focus on clearing his name as a company he co-owned is at the centre of allegations of inappropriate business practices.
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