Global Courant
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has recalled ministers to Ottawa for meetings on Monday and Tuesday ahead of an impending cabinet change expected to take place as early as Wednesday, sources tell CBC News.
Such meetings usually take place before a cabinet change for the prime minister to present the ministers with their new portfolios.
The Prime Minister’s public route shows that he will be in “private meetings” on Monday.
Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities and Ginette Petitpas Taylor – the Minister of Official Languages and Minister in charge of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency – are among those asked to return to Ottawa, sources familiar with the decision say.
CBC does not name the sources because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc and Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, in Moncton, NB, in March. LeBlanc and Petitpas Taylor are among the ministers asked to return to Ottawa ahead of a looming cabinet change, sources tell CBC News. (Ron Ward/The Canadian Press)
Several ministerial announcements scheduled for early this week have also been abruptly cancelled. These include events on Mondays with Transportation Minister Omar Alghabra in Vancouver and Minister of Housing Ahmed Hussen in St John’s.
It is unclear whether those ministers will leave. Canceled ministerial events are often a sign that a cabinet change is imminent.
Last month, several liberal sources told Radio-Canada they believe Marco Mendicino is at risk of being impeached as minister of public safety.
Mendicino is under intense pressure due to the controversy surrounding Paul Bernardo’s transfer to a medium-security prison, along with his management of the government’s gun control laws and the foreign interference file.
Asked last week in Kingston, Ontario, if he had confidence in his minister of public safety, Trudeau did not immediately answer.
“I have a great team in Ottawa and a great group of MPs across the country who work every day to serve their country, and everyone in my cabinet, by definition, has my confidence,” he said.
Shuffle is expected to be Trudeau’s largest since 2021
The reshuffle is expected to be the biggest change in Trudeau’s cabinet since October 2021, a month after the Liberals were elected to a second minority mandate.
It comes ahead of a planned cabinet retreat next month in PEI, giving new ministers a few weeks to familiarize themselves with their portfolios.
The shuffle will also put the prime minister’s team in place for the next federal election.
Trudeau made a similar cabinet reshuffle in July 2018 ahead of the run-up to the 2019 federal election campaign. That shuffle added five ministers to the cabinet and created three new portfolios for senior citizens, intergovernmental affairs and border security.
