PM Justin Trudeau's Canada

[King of Kensington]

JT will be sworn in tomorrow. Any predictions re: Cabinet?

 

[someMidTowner]

The Star has an interesting article with predictions: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/...-author-trudeaus-cabinet-options-diverse.html

 

[Skeezix]

Scott Brison will likely land in Finance, according to most of the media speculation, but beyond that I couldn't say. Adam Radwanski in one of his recent columns (or maybe a tweet) said the following about cabinet speculation: those who don't know talk, those who know don't talk. Or something to that effect.

Vaughan is (again, according to speculation) not in Cabinet. What will be interesting is whether he gets assigned some sort of special housing or urban agenda role.

I hope Chrystia Freeland gets a plum Cabinet post.

 

[mjl08]

Yes, I agree that Vaughan and Blair will likely be on the outside looking in. Trudeau has to account for gender and regional balance, so a lot of high profile MPs from Toronto will get snubbed.

Freeland and Morneau are two local "cabinet ministers-in-waiting," but since they are relative newbies to the Hill they are unlikely to gain senior positions. They'll probably bag smaller roles like International Trade, Revenue or Employment.

 

[Skeezix]

Well, the speculation was wrong. Morneau is Minister of Finance. Interesting.

Other GTA cabinet ministers are John McCallum (Immigration), Navdeep Singh Bains (Innovation, Science and Economic Development), Chrystia Freeland (International Trade), Jane Philpott (Health) and Kirsty Duncan (Science). No Vaughan or Blair.

ETA: How could I forget Carolyn Bennett (Indigenous and Northern Affairs)?!!

 

[Skeezix]

McCallum will be handling the high-profile Syrian refugees issue, which requires some immediate action. Bennett will be dealing with the murdered and missing indigenous women issue, a matter on which she has been very active. Freeland was international trade critic in the last Parliament, and will be dealing with the TPP.

 

[mjl08]

Really wish Team Trudeau picked a more progressive minded Finance Minister than a former chair of the right wing C.D. Howe Institute with potential conflicts of interest.

In better news, Canada has an Aboriginal Minister of Justice and its first Muslim cabinet minister.

Some notable local snubs included Mark Holland and Bill Blair. Adam Vaughan was never really in the mix, but he'll probably get a Parliamentary Secretary role for Infrastructure and Communities.

 

[Skeezix]

Mark Holland is a snub. Blair less so, I think.

 

[Videodrome]

We have an astronaut in our cabinet!

 

[Skeezix]

For those who missed it, you really need to watch this short video of Trudeau entering the grounds of Rideau Hall this morning. Remarkable.

 

[King of Kensington]

ETA: How could I forget Carolyn Bennett (Indigenous and Northern Affairs)?!!

An excellent appointment.

 

[King of Kensington]

Mark Holland is a snub. Blair less so, I think.

There are 11 MPs from Ontario, 7 from the GTA. Pretty hard for him to make the cut.

 

[Skeezix]

Agreed. That's understood. Doesn't mean he wasn't snubbed in favour of one of the others. He was one of the strongest performing Liberal MPs before the 2011 election (such that the Tories targeted him and took particular delight in his defeat in 2011). I'm not saying that he ought to have been in Cabinet, or that he would have been a better choice than anyone else, simply that it wouldn't have been unreasonable to consider him potential Cabinet material. I probably shouldn't be using the word "snub", though, given its negative connotations. My original point was just that I think he was better Cabinet material than Blair.

 

[Videodrome]

http://www.torontosun.com/2015/11/04/pm-trudeau-picks-strong-cabinet

Even the Sun was impressed with his cabinet picks.

 

[Tuscani01]

It's as if The Sun did a complete 180. Their editorial board seemed pretty congratulatory today too. Not use to seeing this from The Sun. Seems like they are willing to give the guy a chance to prove himself instead of attacking right off the bat. I wonder how long that will last.