Ontario MP Patty Hajdu takes over the health portfolio
Justin Trudeau unveiled a new larger Liberal cabinet. Elected as a minority government on October 21, 2019 the Prime Minister had difficult choices to make to balance regional representation, skill sets, and gender parity.
In a surprising move, former Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor did not receive a cabinet post. Patty Hajdu has been appointed the new Minister of Health, while Navdeep Bains has been reappointed as the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry (note the slight change to the portfolio name). Finally, Deb Schulte takes on the role of Minister of Seniors. A full list of cabinet appointments are below.
About the new Health Minister
Minister Hajdu previously worked in public health and focused on drug policy, youth development, and homelessness. Prior to her election, she ran the largest homeless shelter in Northwestern Ontario.
Early insights
- Focus will be on domestic affairs and relationships with Premiers: Given Chrystia Freeland’s strong performance abroad during tough trade negotiations with the U.S., it is not surprising that she will be the point person on intergovernmental matters. Her status as Deputy Prime Minister signals further how much Trudeau will lean on her negotiation skills.
- Focus on regional representation: The last four years saw power centralized in the Prime Minister’s Office which led to severe consequences for internal caucus relations and resentment from voters who felt alienated in certain regions of the country. The new cabinet is the government’s best attempt at regional representation, and signals that decision-making will be conducted differently in this minority government.
- Cabinet stays large: Prior to the election in October, Prime Minister Trudeau’s cabinet had 35 members. At 36, the new cabinet remains large and the previous commitment to gender parity has been kept.
Full list of the new 36 member cabinet
Chrystia Freeland
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
Anita Anand
Minister of Public Services and Procurement
Navdeep Bains
Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry
Carolyn Bennett
Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations
Marie-Claude Bibeau
Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Bill Blair
Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Bardish Chagger
Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Youth
Francois-Philippe Champagne
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Jean-Yves Duclos
President of the Treasury Board
Mona Fortier
Minister of Middle-Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance
Marc Garneau
Minister of Transport
Karina Gould
Minister of International Development
Steven Guilbeault
Minister of Canadian Heritage
Patty Hajdu
Minister of Health
Ahmed Hussen
Minister of Families, Children and Social Development
Melanie Joly
Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages
Bernadette Jordan
Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Canadian Coast Guard
David Lametti
Minister of Justice and Attorney-General
Dominic Leblanc
President of the Queen’s Privy Council of Canada
Diane Lebouthillier
Minister of National Revenue
Lawrence MacAulay
Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence
Catherine McKenna
Minister of Infrastructure and Communities
Marco Mendicino
Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
Marc Miller
Minister of Indigenous Services
Maryam Monsef
Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Minister of Rural Economic Development
Bill Morneau
Minister of Finance
Joyce Murray
Minister of Digital Government
Mary Ng
Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade
Seamus O’Regan
Minister of Natural Resources
Carla Qualtrough
Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Accessibility
Pablo Rodriguez
Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Quebec Lieutenant
Harjit Sajjan
Minister of National Defence
Deb Schulte
Minister of Seniors
Filomena Tassi
Minister of Labour
Dan Vandal
Minister of Northern Affairs
Jonathan Wilkinson
Minister of Environment and Climate Change