Toronto/CMEDIA: Canada’s Liberal Party leader Mark Carney was sworn in as the country’s next Prime Minister in Ottawa on Friday.
Carney took oath in the office in the presence of General Mary Simon, who is the personal representative of King Charles.
As a new Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney reportedly made his first major move as Canada’s head of Liberal government on Friday by presenting a pared-down cabinet.
A 59-year-old former governor of the Bank of Canada and Bank of England, Carney took the oath in both English and French, pledging allegiance to King Charles III and vowing to serve as a “faithful and true servant to his majesty”.
His first major challenge will be to fix the strained US-Canada relations, which have hit an all-time low amid a massive tariff war.
To address this Carney reportedly plans to reshape his cabinet, with Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc shifting to the international trade portfolio and Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne taking over as finance minister.
With the Justin Trudeau era officially over after nine-plus years, the Carney era one has just begun and the new prime minister’s cabinet picks reflect that transfer of power.
As Carney put together a much smaller cabinet, eighteen Trudeau government cabinet ministers are being replaced with someone else.
Dropping some Trudeau stalwarts altogether from this new 24-member transition cabinet, including Jean-Yves Duclos, Karina Gould, Mark Holland, Marc Miller and Diane Lebouthillier, while others, like new Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland, have been demoted to arguably more junior roles by Carney
He’s also dropped the job of deputy prime minister in this ministry.
There’s still considerable overlap with Trudeau’s last cabinet. Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly stays where she is, as does Jonathan Wilkinson at Natural Resources, and Dominic LeBlanc will retain the Canada-U.S. file as Carney’s new international trade minister.
Carney’s team was reported saying that that was because he wants some continuity in key files as the country grapples with a series of acute challenges.
Carney’s new cabinet team is as follows:
• International Trade and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister and President of the King’s Privy Council Dominic LeBlanc
• Foreign Affairs and International Development Minister Mélanie Joly
• Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne
• Innovation, Science and Industry Minister Anita Anand
• Defence Minister Bill Blair
• Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu
• Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson
• Treasury Board President Ginette Petitpas Taylor
• Canadian Culture and Identity, Parks Canada Minister and Quebec Lieutenant Steven Guilbeault
• Transport and Internal Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland
• Health Minister Kamal Khera
• Justice Minister and Attorney General of Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Minister Gary Anandasangaree
• Chief Government Whip Rechie Valdez
• Jobs and Families Minister Steven MacKinnon
• Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness David McGuinty
• Environment and Climate Change Minister Terry Duguid
• Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Minister Nate Erskine-Smith
• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Rachel Bendayan
• Veterans Affairs and Minister responsible for the Canada Revenue Agency Elisabeth Briere
• Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Minister Joanne Thompson
• Government House Leader and Democratic Institutions Minister Arielle Kayabaga
• Agriculture and Agri-Food and Rural Economic Development Minister Kody Blois
• Government Transformation, Public Services and Procurement Minister Ali Ehsassi
Carney himself, of course, never sat in Trudeau’s cabinet, which was part of his appeal to some Liberal voters who wanted a clean break from the past.
The three words Carney’s team is circulating Friday morning are: “change, focus, action.”
The cabinet rebrand is Carney’s chance to show the voting public he’s his own man.
One immediate change is Carney’s moving away from is Trudeau’s prioritization of regional representation and gender balance on his front bench, something a senior source said is on account of there being fewer people in cabinet.
“This new, leaner, focused Cabinet includes returning ministers, seasoned leaders, and new voices who will bring fresh ideas and perspectives to the team as it delivers on the things that matter most to Canadians, such as strengthening Canada’s economy and security,” said the Prime Minister’s Office in a statement.
