{"id":9796,"date":"2018-07-20T08:03:41","date_gmt":"2018-07-20T12:03:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/?p=9796"},"modified":"2023-07-24T21:04:07","modified_gmt":"2023-07-25T01:04:07","slug":"pm-fine-tunes-his-cabinet-with-an-election-shuffle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/?p=9796","title":{"rendered":"PM fine tunes his Cabinet with an \u201cElection Shuffle\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The Niagara Independent, July 20, 2018 –<\/em> Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shuffled his cabinet this week, bringing five new ministers to the table and creating a new portfolio for border security, an issue that has become a political vulnerability for the government over the past months.<\/p>\n

Political analysts view this shuffle as a political move in advance of the 2019 election. There are additional ministers from Ontario and Quebec, where the Liberals need to maintain and, if possible, grow their seat count. David\u00a0Moscrop, a political scientist at Simon Fraser University explains \u201cThe shuffle gives Trudeau an opportunity to put his best players on the pitch before the campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are five new faces, reflecting both regional and ethnic diversity. The PM ensured to maintain a gender balance, adding the appropriate number of women while not dropping any from cabinet. Ministers Joly and Bennett were both expected to be let go and, instead, Melanie Joly is given considerable lesser roles with no government department, and Carolyn Bennett had northern affairs responsibilities taken from her portfolio. So, the new cabinet has 35 members including the PM, with 17 women and 18 men.<\/p>\n

The PM did not shuffle any of his top ministers. Foreign Affairs Minister\u00a0Chrystia\u00a0Freeland, Finance Minister Bill\u00a0Morneau\u00a0and Public Safety Minister Ralph\u00a0Goodale all remain ensconced on the Government\u2019s front benches.<\/p>\n

Here are the new ministers added to the cabinet:<\/p>\n