Steven MacKinnon has been named the new Minister of Labor.
Ottawa:
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday named Steven MacKinnon, a Liberal member of Quebec’s parliament, as the new labor minister, filling a vacancy created when Seamus O’Regan stepped down for personal reasons.
MacKinnon, who has been temporarily in charge of government affairs in the Lower House since January, takes over the labor portfolio at an unstable time for the Trudeau government, with his popularity among voters falling in part due to high inflation and housing shortages. affordable prices.
O’Regan, who represents a constituency in the province of Newfoundland, announced his resignation on Thursday, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family.
A surprise defeat for the main opposition Conservative Party in a once-safe Toronto constituency in a special election last month has fueled questions about the Trudeau government’s leadership and strategy. Around 15 months before the next general election, a series of polls show that the Liberals would lose badly to the Conservatives, after being in power since November 2015.
The Canadian newspaper Globe and Mail, citing unnamed sources, reported a rift between senior advisers to Trudeau and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland over concerns about his effectiveness in the key role.
The newspaper also reported that Trudeau met with Mark Carney, former governor of the Bank of Canada, to recruit him into the government.
Pressured by journalists during the briefings, both Trudeau and Freeland stopped short of categorically denying that a change in the financial portfolio was imminent.
When asked about the matter, Trudeau said he trusts Freeland, but did not say whether she would remain as finance minister.
Freeland, who also serves as deputy prime minister, declined to say whether Trudeau assured him he would keep the role.
Trudeau has changed his cabinet once since forming a minority government after the 2021 election
The Liberal leader recruited seven new members of parliament to his cabinet in July 2023, but heavyweights like Freeland, Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly kept their portfolios. .
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