Canadians entered a new era after Mark Carney was sworn in as the country’s 24th Prime Minister this morning at Rideau Hall.
In a ceremony presided over by Gov. Gen. Mary Simon, 23 cabinet ministers were also sworn in – scaled down from Justin Trudeau’s 39-member cabinet. Carney’s cabinet comprises of 13 men and 11 women.
This new cabinet is a mix of old and new faces. Crystia Freeland, who served as Deputy Prime Minister and Economic Minister before stepping down from Trudeau’s cabinet is now Transport Minister. Other returning cabinet ministers include Mélanie Joly who is currently in Quebec at the G7 meeting. She remains Foreign Affairs Minister. François-Philippe Champagne became Finance Minister replacing Dominic LeBlanc who is now International Trade Minister. And Anita Anand takes over Champagne’s old job as Minister Of Innovation, Science And Industry.
Eighteen Trudeau government ministers are not returning to cabinet, either because they have decided not to run in the next election or because Carney replaced them with someone else.
Of course – U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the annexation of Canada was top of mind as Carney addressed the media for the first time as Prime Minister. Carney said that he’s assembled a cabinet who can help “our nation in the midst of this crisis”. Carney also called Trump’s 51st state taunts “crazy.”
“We will never, ever — in any way, shape or form — be part of the United States,” he said. He added that Canada will develop new trade relationships with “reliable partners.” While there are no meetings currently scheduled with Donald Trump, Carney kept the door open for “mutual solutions”. He has accepted invitations from the leaders of France and the U.K. to meet immediately to discuss improving trade and security ties.
Prime Minister Carney wasted little time – announcing late this afternoon that he is removing the contentious consumer carbon tax.
“This will make a difference to hard-pressed Canadians, but it is part of a much bigger set of measures that this government is taking to ensure that we fight against climate change, that our companies are competitive, and the country moves forward,” Carney said.
Carney said Canadians who have received the rebates will still get their next cheque on April 15.
Carney also says that the new government will have priorities that reflect the needs of Canadians including more higher-paying jobs, improving affordability and making Canada more secure, saying. “Canada will be action-oriented to meet the moment.”
The new Prime Minister also addressed Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, saying his opponent is negative about everything.
“We will relentlessly pursue this positive agenda because Canadians know that negativity isn’t strength,” he said. “Negativity won’t bring down the price of groceries. Negativity won’t win a trade war.”
It didn’t take long for Piere Poilievre to fire back. In a news conference this afternoon after the swearing in ceremony, he took aim at the new cabinet, calling it ‘the same Liberal gang’. Earlier in the day he posted to social media:
Both the Conservative Party and the NDP have released scathing videos about Mark Carney.
The Green Party of Canada also did not comment on Carney on social media but did list their candidates for the next federal election.
Leaders around the globe congratulated Mark Carney when he was elected leader of the Liberal Party last week. Today, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wished him well and once again thanked Canada for its support in the war against Russia.
As of 4:30 PM, there has been no public reaction or congratulatory statement from the White House or Donald Trump.
The question Canadians are asking is “When will Carney call an election?”. After the swearing in ceremony, he said voters “certainly should expect to go to the polls before November”.
“We will be going to take some decisions,” Carney continued, “There will be other news in the coming days with respect to ensuring that we have as strong a mandate that is needed for the time.”
This is a developing story. We’ll post updates on our Facebook page as we get them.
Complete List of Cabinet Ministers
•Dominic Leblanc, Minister Of International Trade And Intergovernmental Affairs And President Of The King’s Privy Council For Canada
• Mélanie Joly, Minister Of Foreign Affairs And International Development
• François-Philippe Champagne, Minister Of Finance
• Anita Anand, Minister Of Innovation, Science And Industry
• Bill Blair, Minister Of National Defence
• Patty Hajdu, Minister Of Indigenous Services
• Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister Of Energy And Natural Resources
• Ginette Petitpas Taylor, President Of The Treasury Board
• Steven Guilbeault, Minister Of Canadian Culture And Identity, Parks Canada And Quebec Lieutenant
• Chrystia Freeland, Minister Of Transport And Internal Trade
• Kamal Khera, Minister Of Health
• Gary Anandasangaree, Minister Of Justice And Attorney General Of Canada And Minister Of Crown-Indigenous Relations And Northern Affairs
• Rechie Valdez, Chief Government Whip
• Steven Mackinnon, Minister Of Jobs And Families
• David Mcguinty, Minister Of Public Safety And Emergency Preparedness
• Terry Duguid, Minister Of Environment And Climate Change
• Nate Erskine-Smith, Minister Of Housing, Infrastructure And Communities
• Rachel Bendayan, Minister Of Immigration, Refugees And Citizenship
• Élisabeth Brière, Minister Of Veterans Affairs And Minister Responsible For The Canada Revenue Agency
• Joanne Thompson, Minister Of Fisheries, Oceans And The Canadian Coast Guard
• Arielle Kayabaga, Leader Of The Government In The House Of Commons And Minister Of Democratic Institutions
• Kody Blois, Minister Of Agriculture And Agri-Food And Rural Economic Development
• Ali Ehsassi, Minister Of Government Transformation, Public Services And Procurement.
