Prime Minister Justin Trudeau plans to reshuffle his cabinet on Friday, multiple sources told CBC News.
He leaves a huge hole on the front bench following a series of resignations in recent months, including Chrystia Freeland’s bombshell earlier this week.
Prime Minister Trudeau is under pressure to resign from some members of parliament who accuse him of misplacing his relationship with Freeland, his former right-hand man, but remains focused on the task at hand: governing the country. must be addressed.
Finance Minister Dominique LeBlanc has triple responsibilities, as he also holds the public security and intergovernmental affairs portfolios, which is an enormous amount of work for a single minister.
Anita Anand is the Chairperson of the Finance Committee and the Minister of Transport. Ginette Petitpas Taylor is Minister of Employment, Minister of Official Languages, and Minister of Veterans Affairs.
One person who will not be part of the cabinet reshuffle is former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney, LeBlanc said.
“Mr. Carney is not an option,” the New Brunswick MP told Brunswick News. “That discussion is over.”
Mr. LeBlanc later told Radio-Canada that Mr. Trudeau assured him that the financial portfolio belonged to him.
“Mr. Carney told me he would not be finance minister,” he said.
Two people familiar with the matter told CBC News that the prime minister offered Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne a financial portfolio, but he was turned down.
Trudeau had been on the phone with Freeland in the days since his resignation seeking advice on what to do about his future, a source familiar with the call told CBC News.
One of the calls was to Navdeep Bains, a former Liberal cabinet minister and longtime friend and ally who now holds a senior position at Rogers, the people said.
After Freeland’s abrupt resignation, Prime Minister Trudeau told MPs he would take time to reflect on the criticisms of his leadership.
But MPs later said it was not clear when Trudeau would report on his plans.
Trudeau has called on members of his own caucus (about 15 sitting members have said so far to resign) and Eddie, who served as chief of staff and chief of staff to former Prime Minister Jean Chretien. Calls for his resignation are growing, even from party figures like Goldenberg.
“My own view is that the sooner I announce my resignation, the better,” Goldenberg told CBC News. “Ten years is a long time in a democracy, and Canadians have decided they want a new prime minister. Not necessarily a new party, but definitely a new prime minister.”
Goldenberg said a new leader should be chosen “very quickly” to deal with President-elect Donald Trump’s tariff threats. He said a prolonged Liberal leadership election was not the right cure for the party’s turmoil.
Goldenberg said the current prime minister is falling short of the task of securing the best trade deal for Canada, given President Trump’s persistent mockery of Canada and Prime Minister Trudeau.
“He has no credibility anymore,” he said.
Justice Minister Arif Virani declined to comment on Trudeau’s future in response to reporters’ questions about another issue at a news conference Thursday.
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Arif Virani faced multiple questions Thursday about whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should resign. Asked if he would continue to support Prime Minister Trudeau, Villani said: “I have absolute confidence in the prime minister in terms of what is being asked of me.”
“In terms of what’s been happening in Ottawa over the last few days, ultimately…it’s going to be a decision for the people involved,” he said.
Asked again whether Trudeau should resign, Virani said: “I think it’s very important that the decision is made by the people in Ottawa.”
But he indicated he had no intention of following Freeland’s lead and resigning. “I have absolute confidence in the Prime Minister regarding what is required of me as Minister of Justice.”
