Canada’s New Liberal Government

Canada’s New Liberal Government by Maj (ret’d) CORNELIU, CHISU, CD, PMSC FEC, CET, P.Eng. Former Member of Parliament Pickering-Scarborough East Finally, we have completed a crucial election and a new Mark Caney Liberal government has been sworn in. It seems to be an interesting one, judging by the qualifications of the people appointed to ministerial and state secretaries’ roles. At first glance, it looks ready for business in a world full of unforeseen challenges especially from our neighbour from the South We see a mixture of former Trudeau ministers and new ones, people with political experience and less so, and a wide variety of work experience. It seems that this government has more of a business-oriented composition with a CEO in Prime Minister Mark Carney. Now we only need to see what results they achieve. Prime Minister Mark Carney did not name Trudeau as the missing piece of this new federal cabinet, but his message, that this is not-the-Trudeau cabinet, was crystal clear. “Canadians elected us with a mandate for change. So there is a great deal of change in this cabinet, by necessity,” Carney said, boasting that he’d created a “perfect” mix by building a team that’s made up of half rookies, half experienced hands. The other message it sends is that this is a prime minister not afraid to cut people loose, even those Mark Carney installed around himself when he did his first shuffle after winning the leadership. Toronto’s Nate Erskine-Smith, Bill Blair and Jonathan Wilkinson from British Columbia have all been replaced. While the cuts were no doubt brutal to those who did not get the call for cabinet this time, this is not the worst reputation for Mark Carney to acquire early, as a prime minister who won’t cling to ministers when it is time for them to move on. One other big difference Carney seemed keen to establish is that his PMO would not be holding the hands of any ministers, new or old.Therefore, the PMO staff will be as they should be, with no extra powers over ministers. “This cabinet is smaller and more focused than those of previous governments,” Carney said. “It will operate with a commitment to true cabinet government, with everyone expected and empowered to show leadership, bring new ideas, to have a clear focus and to take decisive actions to accomplish their work in a return to more traditional cabinet.” Whether PM Carney can pull that off is another question and will soon be evident. At the moment, Mark Carney is also displaying strict discipline over who speaks for his government. He repeated several times on inauguration that the buck stops with him on all matters dealing with Canada-U.S. relations and Donald Trump. As was the case a week ago when Carney met with Trump, Carney did all the talking on inauguration day; not any of his ministers, new or old. This too could be at odds with his vow to cultivate “true ministerial government,” with cabinet members speaking for themselves without waiting for the go-ahead from the PMO. The new Carney cabinet has not totally exorcised the ghost of Trudeau, as Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was eager to point out on Tuesday, listing all the old ministers who had survived the Carney cuts. Poilievre is predicting that Trudeau policies on everything from housing to the environment are just being repackaged. “Mr. Carney talked a good game about reversing liberal policies in these areas, but now we have to find out if he was serious, and so far, it’s not a promising start,” he said. These comments from Pierre Poilievre savor of sour grapes, when he should be reflecting on the excellent opportunities lost by the Conservative Party for forming the government. Carney has stuck to the policy of gender parity in cabinet and has restored a ministry in charge of women’s issues, which was cut in his first try at cabinet-making, a move that was the subject of much criticism. This is a sign, a welcome one, that Carney is still learning on the job and that he and his team have been hearing the criticism about the “bro culture” that seemed to be swirling around the early team coalescing around the new Liberal leader. So now let us see the reaction of the official opposition when the House of Commons resume. Let us hope they will react in a constructive matter. The Conservative Party has a lot of thinking to do and changes to undergo to put themselves on track if they intend to form the next government. The old approach of dictatorial staff in Pierre Poilievre’s office should end and a true and honest candidate selection process must be up and running at least a couple of years before the next election. We seem to be experiencing new beginnings in Canadian Politics, with an adult in the house after three terms of childish chaos. May he be successful in his quest to make Canada strong again. What do you think?