Toronto: Even as his government remains in crisis mode, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau undertook a Cabinet reshuffle, on Friday, inducting eight new ministers, including an Indo-Canadian MP.
The reshuffle has been necessitated by the resignation of four ministers this year and by others announcing they will not contest the next Federal elections.
Of the eight new ministers brought in at the ceremony on Friday was Ruby Sahota, who is an MP from Brampton North in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Though she has been an MP since 2015, this will mark her debut in the Cabinet, and she will handle the Democratic Institutions portfolio.
Another Indo-Canadian Anita Anand, currently the Minister of Transport, has been given additional charge of Internal Trade.
Sahota’s inclusion brings the number of Indo-Canadians in the Cabinet to four, with Kamal Khera and Arif Virani being the others.
But Trudeau’s tenure still appears to be in danger of coming to an end well before scheduled Federal elections in October 2025. Though the House of Commons is in recess, chances of his Government surviving the next session, which begins on January 29, appear slim.
Thus far, the no confidence motion brought forth by the opposition Conservative Party have failed as Trudeau has been rescued by the New Democratic Party or NDP. But, on Friday morning, for the first time, the NDP stated it will bring the government down.
Its leader Jagmeet Singh, in a statement, said, “The Liberals don’t deserve another chance. That’s why the NDP will vote to bring this government down, and give Canadians a chance to vote for a government who will work for them. No matter who is leading the Liberal Party, this government’s time is up. We will put forward a clear motion of non-confidence in the next sitting of the House of Commons.”
Over a third of the 153 members of the Liberal caucus have sought Trudeau’s resignation as leader of the ruling party. The latest to make that view public was Parliamentary Secretary Rob Oliphant, who in a statement, asked Trudeau to “take appropriate steps to relinquish the leadership”.
Trudeau was left struggling to survive on Monday with the shock resignation of his second-in-command, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. In a scathing letter, which she posted on social media, Freeland she and the PM were “at odds about the best path forward for Canada.”
“On Friday, you told me you no longer want me to serve as your Finance Minister and offered me another position in the Cabinet. Upon reflection, I have concluded that the only honest and viable path is for me to resign from the Cabinet,” she said, adding pointedly that she favoured “eschewing costly political gimmicks, which we can ill afford and which make Canadians doubt that we recognize the gravity of the moment”.
Housing Minister Sean Fraser also quit the same day. Since then, at least 16 MPs have openly called for Trudeau to leave. He has said he requires a few days to reflect on the matter.
He also appointed close confidant Dominic LeBlanc as the new Finance Minister on Monday.
However, the principal opposition Conservatives called for an immediate election given the chaos roiling the Government. In a barbed comment, opposition leader Pierre Poilievre said, “No one has confidence in Trudeau, not even his own cabinet ministers. Except Jagmeet Singh.”
That reference was to the NDP leader, who has helped Trudeau’s Government survive three no confidence motions this year, the latest last week.
Other leaders sought Trudeau’s exit: “Mr. Trudeau’s government is over. He must acknowledge that and act accordingly,” Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said.
Trudeau faces multiple crises including a threat from United States President-elect Donald Trump to impose a 25 per cent tariff on imports from Canada if Ottawa did not curtail illegal immigration and the flow of g=dangerous drugs including fentanyl into America.
That challenge comes at a juncture where Trudeau is facing strong political headwinds, with his party trailing the Conservatives by nearly 20 points in recent polls, signalling potential electoral rout.
It now appears apparent that Trudeau’s exit will come soon. Whether that’s this year and in the spring of 2025 is the question.
