Carney to name ‘focused’ cabinet today, full of fresh faces
Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to drop many members of his first cabinet when he announces his new government on Tuesday, sources say. Over half are expected to be new faces as he strives to refresh the Liberals’ image and focus on the economy.
I’m Cat Tunney, a senior reporter with the CBC’s parliamentary bureau. We’re about an hour away from the swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall, where we’ll learn who will serve in Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new cabinet.
Firming up his front benches is a key step for the newly elected prime minister, ahead of a busy spring sitting that starts May 26.
Unlike other cabinet swearing-in days, there have been very few leaks of who’s in and who’s out — perhaps a sign Carney is running a more firm and disciplined PMO.
We are hearing that about 50 per cent of the MPs in cabinet will be new.
Back in March, Carney put together a slim 23-member team (not including himself), largely meant to make sure the Canada-U.S. relationship was taken care of during the election campaign. It was much smaller than former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet, which peaked at 40 members.
After recruiting his own crop of Liberal candidates and ultimately securing a win, Carney now gets to choose the team he wants to deliver his agenda. That includes negotiating a new economic and security deal with the U.S., lowering interprovincial trade barriers and making Canada an “energy superpower.”
“I committed to an efficient cabinet, a focused cabinet,” he told reporters in his first news conference after winning the April 28 election.
The swearing-in ceremony is expected to begin at 10:30 a.m. ET.
