Carney Announces Cabinet Appointments, Including Four Western Ministers

(Image courtesy of CBC)

Today, Prime Minister Mark Carney, fresh off his win in the 2025 Canadian election, made changes to the federal Cabinet, bringing in new faces and keeping old ones.

Some Changes at the Top

The major change came at Foreign Affairs, as Melanie Joly was swapped out for Anita Anand. Joly will stay on in the Cabinet as Minister of Industry. Dominic LeBlanc and François-Philippe Champagne will continue to serve as Intergovernmental and Finance Ministers, being on the front line of the Canada-US trade war. Chrysia Freeland, former Deputy PM and candidate for the Liberal leadership, will continue as Minister of Transport and Internal Trade.

BC Given Larger Role

For British Columbia, the province has two new ministers. Delta MP Jill McKnight was invited to serve as Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence. Gregor Robertson, star candidate for the Liberals and former Mayor of Vancouver, was appointed Minister of Housing and Infrastructure. Jonathan Wilkinson, MP for North Vancouver-Capilano, was relieved of his post as Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, being replaced by newly elected MP Tim Hodgson.

Three BC MPs were named to Secretary of State positions to support Cabinet ministers. Surrey Centre MP Randeep Sarai was appointed Secretary of State for International Development, Kelowna MP Stephen Fuhr was named Secretary of State for Defence Procurement, and Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke MP Stephanie McLean was given Secretary of State for Seniors.

All told, the cabinet is composed of 28 people, 29 if you include the Prime Minister. Not surprisingly for a Liberal government, Québec and Ontario are heavily represented, with a total of 19 ministers from the two provinces. The west, comprising Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and BC, have been given four ministers.

Carney’s Cabinet Lacks Western Touch

Carney pledged that he would reduce the number of ministers, and he has, with 28 ministers to help the PMO, a significant decrease from former Prime Minister Trudeau’s 37. That being said, snubs of western Liberal MPs, particularly from Manitoba and British Columbia, raise questions of whether the Prime Minister will address western concerns. While Carney is the first elected Liberal Prime Minister born and raised in Mountain Standard Time, the issues of western alienation will still play a role in Canadian politics for the months and years to come.