Canada’s prime minister Justin Trudeau announced his new Cabinet on Tuesday and has promoted women in top roles in another gender-balanced Cabinet. Women are now in charge of the ministries of finance, foreign affairs, and defense.
In a Cabinet of 38 people, including Trudeau, 19 are women. Familiar faces remain integral parts of Justin Trudeau’s Cabinet, such as Chrystia Freeland, who keeps her job as Finance Minister and deputy prime minister. Melanie Joly, who was previously minister of economic development and official languages, is getting a promotion by becoming Canada’s foreign affairs minister. Former Procurement Minister Anita Anand becomes minister of national defense. Ginette Petitpas Taylor will be responsible for the file of official languages.
New faces in Canadian politics are also getting a ministerial role, including Pascale St-Onge, now minister of sport, Marci Ien, minister of women, gender equality and Youth. Kamal Khera, an Ontarian politician first elected in 2015, also got her first cabinet job as minister of seniors.
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has made it a priority to have a gender-equal Cabinet since his first term as prime minister in 2015 and had promised to name another gender-equal cabinet following the country’s latest election, in which his liberal party won a minority. Four previous women ministers lost their seat or did not seek reelection last September, forcing Trudeau to appoint new faces in top roles in order to keep parity.
Canada’s former foreign affairs minister, Marc Garneau, will reportedly retire and become Canada’s … [+]GETTY IMAGES
A few high-profile politicians are leaving the Cabinet this time around, more notably Marc Garneau, Canada’s previous minister of foreign affairs, who will reportedly retire and become ambassador to France.
Justin Trudeau has also appointed Steven Guilbeault, a formerly high-profile Greenpeace environment activist, as environment minister – showing a possible change of approach on the file. “We need to ensure that the oil and gas industry stops increasing emissions,” Trudeau said when announcing his cabinet.
