Ottawa/CMEDIA: A series of reported resignations in recent months, including Chrystia Freeland’s bombshell departure earlier this week, Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is being pressured to resign by about15 sitting MPs of Caucus members.
Pressures are also from party grandees like Eddie Goldenberg, a former senior adviser and chief of staff to former prime minister Jean Chrétien.
With the purpose of the shuffle is to make sure the cabinet is complete so the government can function properly, the immediate task before Trudeau is governing the country.
Canada’s Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc is holding an enormous workload of pulling triple-duty because he also holds the public safety and intergovernmental affairs portfolios.
Anita Anand is serving as both president of the Treasury Board and transport minister, and Ginette Petitpas Taylor is the employment minister, the minister for official languages and the Veterans Affairs minister.
The people who are not running again in the next election will reportedly be out of cabinet and others will be brought in to relieve those ministers who have been doing double-duty.
According to one senior government source the timing and size of the shuffle should not be taken as a signal that the prime minister has made up his mind about his future asTrudeau is still reflecting on his position.
One person who won’t be part of that cabinet shuffle is former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney, according to LeBlanc.
LeBlanc was reported telling Radio-Canada that Trudeau assured him the finance portfolio belongs to him.
“He told me that Mr. Carney will not be the minister of finance,” he said.
Before LeBlanc was offered the position, François-Philippe Champagne took himself out of the running for the finance portfolio according to sources.
After Freeland’s abrupt departure, Trudeau told MPs he would take time to reflect on the criticisms of his leadership.
The ceremony at Rideau Hall will be the prime minister’s first official public appearance.
Under Trudeau, the Liberals have been facing persistently poor polling numbers that have had them trailing Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives for more than a year.
They’ve also faced significant byelection losses, and have heard repeated calls for the need of a shakeup or reset to Trudeau’s inner circle.
Trudeau announced today that the Governor General, Mary Simon, appointed the following individuals as independent senators to fill vacancies in the Senate:
- Allister Surette, for Nova Scotia
- Nancy Karetak-Lindell, for Nunavut
